Fixed-term contracts have been weaponised, says trade unionist
VICE-PRESIDENT OF the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions Rudolph Thomas is warning that the continued misuse of fixedterm contracts by employers will lead to serious consequences for the Jamaican labour force in the future.
He was addressing yesterday’s opening session of the Labour Advisory Council Sub-Committee Focus Group Workshop on ‘Fixed Term Contracts’ at the Spanish Court Hotel, New Kingston, which was also attended by representatives from the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF), Jamaica Civil Service Association, the Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees, two employment agencies and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
”If we continue on the trajectory that we are with the misuse of fixedterm contracts, we going to have serious problems down the road,” Thomas told the audience. “We are in no way saying that there isn’t use for fixed-term contracts, because there is a defined space and time for it to be used and you will find historically, up to about 30 going towards 35 years ago, it was used in the space properly. Subsequent to that we have a breaking away to what we now refer to as a misuse and creating of a most precarious form of employment, where it is now being used to erode permanent employment and that has its impact, not only on labour but also, we believe, on the national well-being.”
The senior trade unionist continued: “I am going to use the word weaponised where these contracts are concerned because we have seen where these contracts have been used against workers. Not only does it put them in a bad position but it is used to get them to do things they would not normally do. It’s used in acts of sexual harassment – if you don’t do, you won’t get contracts renewed. It is used in circumstances where a person’s morals would have them not do certain things. If you don’t sign it and make it go through, you contract won’t be renewed. So, in our minds, that is taking it and holding it at the throat of the worker as if it was a weapon.”
In the meantime, Bernita Locke, vice-president of the JEF, pointed out that there was nothing wrong with fixed-term contracts but what was important was observing the guidelines and ensuring that employees and employers are protected. She admitted to having some concerns about workers’ welfare.
“On a personal note, I have a challenge with the way some of these contracts are prepared and managed. When I look at some of the contracts, I realise that, yes, it’s good when you are young but when you get to a certain age cohort, you are at a disadvantage because the whole business of surviving after the world of work becomes very critical.”
ECONOMIC FORCES
Wayne Chen, president of the JEF, called f or a robust interrogation of labour market data to ensure that there is a full understanding of what those numbers are saying.
“The fact that employers have misused fixed-term contracts, is it that we are morally corrupt or is it that economic forces are driving us into that direction? We have in Jamaica record low employment, more employment, more jobs, than ever before in our history, but we also have a hard core. Hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans who have opted out of the workforce. What is it saying to us in terms of policy that will drive formality because, without formality, we are not going to foment the critical mass within our organisations to make us competitive,” he pointed out.
“What is it saying about where employment is heading in Jamaica if significant numbers of jobs are in sectors that require fixedterm contracts, not least the BPO (business process outsourcing) sector that currently employs over 60,000 Jamaicans and growing? So, when we tinker, we have to take all these things into consideration and we need to be mindful of the bigger environment as we proceed.”