Minister: More labour laws early next year

Jennifer Baptiste-Primus - Vidya Thurab
Jennifer Baptiste-Primus - Vidya Thurab

Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus expects that by the first quarter of 2020, at least four pieces of legislation will go before the Parliament to promote a sustainable environment for sustainable enterprises, economic growth and decent work for all.

Speaking at the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-Operative Studies graduation on Friday, Baptiste-Primus said several pieces of industrial-relations legislation were being reviewed. They included the Retrenchment and Severance Benefit Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, national workplace sexual harassment policy and the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-Operative Studies Act.

She said she felt strongly about the Retrenchment Act because “another Arcelor Mittal must never ever occur in this country, where workers work for many, many years, as much as 30 and 35 years, and an international agency pulls up (sticks) and leaves the workers without a cent.”

She also said the ministry was finalising discussions on a standalone Cipriani College Bill.

“We are in the final stages of the revision of the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-Operative Studies Act as we seek to position this important institution as a critical part of the infrastructure that would support the development of working people and the pursuit for social justice and equity.”

She said many challenges were anticipated regarding the future of work, including many job losses, many jobs new being created, and the fact that future adults would hold jobs people now would not know about.

She said that at the Centenary International Labour Conference in Geneva in June, the International Labour Organization’s Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work recognised that “the world of work is experiencing transformative change driven by technological innovations, demographic shifts, climate change and globalisation.”

It was recognised that in order to move forward and adjust to create a sustainable future governments would have to invest in people – jobs, skill and social protection. She added that this would include adequate wages, limited working hours, health and safety, and ensuring fundamental rights were upheld.

Baptiste-Primus told the graduates that graduation was not the end of their personal and professional development journey, but the end of phase one.

“In this dynamic world of work that I just described, you owe it to yourself to ensure that you remain relevant to the demands of this changing environment. You owe it to yourselves and your families to make sure that you take ownership of your own destiny.”

She said it was a component to being good, productive, and happy workers as they enjoyed the benefits of what they worked hard to achieve.

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"Minister: More labour laws early next year"

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