Union executive renews criticism of wide scale use of ‘contract work’
BLENHEIM, Hanover — Assistant general secretary of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) Collin Virgo is calling on the Government to address the vexing issue of contract work which he claims is being used by some employers to abuse the rights of employees.
Virgo said employers are abusing the current system by terminating the contract of employees without following the labour laws that were put in place by Jamaica’s first prime minister and National Hero Sir Alexander Bustamante.
“So, when they don’t want to follow the law and process, they just terminate your contract. It must stop. Jamaica is a signatory to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions on Decent Work,” declared Virgo during a ceremony to mark the 138th anniversary of the birth of Sir Alexander in Blenheim, Hanover, last Thursday.
The ceremony, which was held at the national hero’s birthplace, was arranged by the Hanover Municipal Corporation in partnership with the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission.
Virgo pointed out that under the ILO conventions, contract work is supposed to be limited to three conditions: seasonal work, supplementary work and fixed-term work.
“So, if the work is occasional, if you need additional support, or if the work is only going to last a specified period, those are the conditions and only conditions under which you are supposed to be having contract workers,” explained Virgo.
“And, where the Government still has contract workers in the system, the Government is wrong and they must stop it. And if and where existing, they must compensate you for it,” argued Virgo.
The BITU official also took a swipe at lawyers who have argued that the labour laws in Jamaica are biased to workers.
“That is absolute rubbish. It is not true and the last person to be telling that barefaced lie shouldn’t be an attorney,” declared Virgo.
He added: “The same rule and principles of natural justice that apply to the most depraved criminals is the very same one that applies to the worker. It is not more and it certainly ought not to be less.
“So, the lawyers who are saying these things, they are — I don’t want to call them liars, maybe a little closer to dunce — because these are the same lawyers who every day get up and go to court and do the job that they are obligated to do in defending those same criminals or whoever and get them off”.
As he continued to berate members of the legal profession, Virgo charged that every single item in Jamaica’s labour laws, introduced by Sir Alexander, and the prime ministers who followed him, abide by the rules of natural justice and due process that is afforded to “the wicked of criminals in this country”.
“So, criminals deserve protection under the law, but workers don’t deserve it?” quipped Virgo.