Jamaica
The ITUC does not have an affiliate in Jamaica.
Jamaica ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association
freedom of association
The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.
See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) in 1962 and Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining
collective bargaining
The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.
See collective bargaining agreement
(1949) in 1962.
Legal
Freedom of association / Right to organise
Freedom of association
The right to freedom of association is enshrined in the Constitution.
The right to freedom of association is regulated by law.
Anti-Union discrimination
The law prohibits anti-union discrimination.
Barriers to the establishment of organisations
- Prior authorisation or approval by authorities required for the establishment of a union
- A trade union must make an application for registration within 30 days of its establishment (section 6, Trade Unions Act).
- Sanctions imposed for organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. or joining an organisation not officially recognised
- If an application for registration of a trade union has not been made or has been refused, or registration of a trade union has been cancelled, every member of the trade union who continues to be a member, and every person who participates in any meeting or proceeding of the trade union, knowing that it is not registered, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a penalty of up to $500 (JMD) (section 6(4), Trade Unions Act).
Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration
- Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom
- In addition to the obligation on the treasurer of the trade union to deliver annually to the Registrar a statement of accounts, audit certificates, membership lists and changes to the rules and/or officers of the trade union, the Registrar may at any time require the treasurer or other officer of a trade union to deliver detailed accounts in respect of any specified period (section 16(2), Trade Unions Act).
- Restrictions on the right to freely organise activities and formulate programmes
- The Minister has extensive powers to refer a dispute to arbitration (sections 9, 10 and 11A, Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act).
Categories of workers prohibited or limited from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office
- Other civil servants and public employees
- Civil servants are excluded from the definition of worker (i.e., “all persons employed in trade or industry”) in section 2 of the Trade Union Act.
Right to collective bargaining
Right to collective bargaining
The right to collective bargaining is recognised by law.
Barriers to the recognition of collective bargaining agents
- Excessive requirements in respect to trade unions’ representativity or minimum number of members required to bargaining collectively
- A trade union must secure the support of the majority of the workers eligible to vote in a proposed bargaining unit in order to be recognised as having bargaining rights with respect to workers in the bargaining unit (sections 4A and 5(5), Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act). Trade unions may only claim joint bargaining rights if each trade union individually receives at least 30 per cent of the votes (section 5(6), Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act). As well as setting a high threshold for eligibility, this may lead to a situation where two minority trade unions exclude the most representative trade union, if the latter secures less than 50 per cent of workers' votes.
Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary bargaining
- Imposition of fixed and unreasonable procedural requirements (e.g. short time-limits for reaching an agreement)
- A trade union that is recognised as having bargaining rights in relation to workers must give written notice to the employer, stating that the trade union desires to make a collective agreement with the employer, within 15 days of having been recognised. Negotiations for a collective agreement must be conducted within 30 days of the date of service of that notice (section 5A, Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act).
- Compulsory conciliation
conciliation
An attempt by a neutral third party, a conciliator, to aid the settling of an industrial dispute by improving communications, offering advice and interpreting issues to bring the disputing parties to a point where they can reconcile their differences. The conciliator does not take as active a role as a mediator or an arbitrator.
See arbitration, mediation and / or binding arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.
See conciliation, mediation procedure in the event of disputes during collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.
See collective bargaining agreement
, other than in essential services essential services Services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. Can include the hospital sector, electricity and water supply services, and air traffic control. Strikes can be restricted or even prohibited in essential services.
See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
- The Minister has extensive powers to refer a dispute to arbitration, if (1) the dispute concerns an essential service; or (2) industrial action is likely to be gravely injurious to the national interest; or (3) the Minister is satisfied that an industrial dispute should be settled expeditiously; or (4) the Minister and Supreme Court are satisfied that industrial action is prejudicial to the national interest (sections 9, 10, 11A and 32, Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act).
Limitations or ban on collective bargaining in certain sectors
- Other civil servants and public employees
- The right to be recognised as having bargaining rights, and the obligation on trade unions and employers to bargain in good faith, does not apply to the Government or to workers employed by the Government (section 25(3), Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act).
Right to strike
Right to strike
The right to strike is recognised by law but strictly regulated.
Ban or limitations on certain types of strike actions
- Restrictions with respect to the objective of a strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike (e.g. industrial disputes, economic and social issues, political, sympathy and solidarity reasons) - Strike action may only be taken in relation to industrial disputes, which are defined to mean a dispute between one or more employers or organisations representing employers and one or more workers or organisations representing workers where the dispute relates to the following: terms and conditions (including physical conditions) of employment; engagement, non-engagement, termination or suspension of the employment; allocation of work; any matter affecting the privileges, rights and duties of an employer, employers' organisation, worker or trade union; and any matter relating to the bargaining rights on behalf of any worker (section 2, Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act). Picketing for sympathy or solidarity reasons is prohibited (i.e., it is unlawful for any person to participate in a picket if the person is not an employer, member, worker or former worker of the firm involved in the industrial dispute and at which the picket is directed, or is not one of eight officers of a registered trade union) (section 33, Trade Unions Act).
- Restrictions with respect to type of strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action (e.g. pickets, wild-cat, working to rule, sit-down, go-slow go-slow A form of industrial action whereby the workers deliberately reduce their pace of work in order to restrict output.
See work-to-rule ) - Picketing is unlawful if it is attended in such numbers or otherwise in such manner as to be calculated to intimidate any person, obstruct the approach thereto or egress therefrom or to lead to a breach of the peace (section 33, Trade Unions Act).
Undue interference by authorities or employers during the course of a strike
- Authorities’ or employers’’’ power to unilaterally prohibit, limit, suspend or cease a strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action - The Minister may make an order declaring strike action to be unlawful where it appears to the Minister that any industrial action has caused or would cause an interruption in the supply of goods or services of such a nature or on such a scale as to be likely to be gravely injurious to the national interest (section 10, Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act). The Minister also has the power to apply to the Supreme Court for an order restraining the parties from commencing or continuing industrial action where it appears to the Minister that any industrial action is likely to be gravely injurious to the national economy, to imperil national security or to create a serious risk of public disorder, or to endanger the lives of a substantial number of persons or expose them to serious risk of disease or injury (section 32, Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act).
- Authorities’ or employers’ power to prevent or end a strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike by referring the dispute to arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.
See conciliation, mediation - The Minister has extensive powers to refer a dispute to arbitration, if (1) the dispute concerns an essential service; or (2) industrial action is likely to be gravely injurious to the national interest; or (3) the Minister is satisfied that an industrial dispute should be settled expeditiously (sections 9, 10 and 11A, Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act).
Undermining of the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness
- Excessive civil or penal sanctions for workers and unions involved in non-authorised strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike actions - Any worker who ceases, abstains from or refuses to continue to perform work, or carries on a course of conduct intended to prevent or reduce the production of goods or services, during a period of unlawful industrial action shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of up to $500 (JMD) (or, in the case of a continuing offence, of up to $5,000) (section 13, Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act). Unlawful involvement in a picket is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to three months, with our without hard labour (sections 32 and 33, Trade Unions Act).
Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors
- Other limitations (e.g. in EPZ export processing zone A special industrial area in a country where imported materials are processed before being re-exported. Designed to attract mostly foreign investors by offering incentives such as exemptions from certain trade barriers, taxes, business regulations, and/or labour laws. s)
- Workers and trade unions in certain industries are obliged to give the Minister at least 72 hours’ notice of any contemplated industrial action. These industries are as follows: air transport services for the carriage of passengers, etc.; banana services; businesses relating to the issue or redemption of currency, etc.; banking services; bauxite and alumina services; marine services; public passenger transport services; sugar and its by-products services; telephone services; and tourism services (section 5B and 5th Schedule, Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act).
In practice
With tens of thousands of jobs linked to the tourism sector lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jamaican government has heralded the island’s fast-expanding business process outsourcing
outsourcing
See contracting-out
(BPO) sector as a much-needed source of jobs. However, there are major concerns about the widespread breach of workers’ rights in the sector. Of the 40,000 BPO workers in Jamaica – whose roles vary from customer services to technical support, sales and more – nearly all are working on fixed-term and temporary contracts, and not one of the 70-plus companies operating on the island has allowed trade union representation within their firms.
As a result, thousands of young workers are lured into call-centre jobs, enticed by promises of good salaries and skilled work within a high-tech, global industry, only to find themselves facing a completely different reality once the training is over and the contracts are signed. Workers describe long hours, short or no breaks during busy periods, and environments where employers hire and fire at will, instilling a sense of fear that makes workers reluctant to speak up. Workers also say that while not explicit, the language in their contracts implies that organising
organising
The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one.
and collective bargaining
collective bargaining
The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.
See collective bargaining agreement
are grounds for dismissal, even though freedom of association
freedom of association
The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.
See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
is enshrined in the Jamaican constitution.
The BPO sector is one of the fastest-growing industries in the Caribbean. The region’s close proximity to the United States and large pool of young, English-speaking, skilled workers has made it an increasingly popular destination for global companies like Teleperformance, Xerox, itel-BPO and IBEX Global, particularly as coronavirus outbreaks in various call centres in the Philippines impacted business in the world’s top BPO destination. There are currently 40,000 workers in Jamaica’s global services industry; the government is aiming for 300,000 jobs in the industry by 2030.
Meanwhile, BPOs already have special privileges as they operate under special economic zone (free zones) legislation as “public utility services”. This arrangement has resulted in a range of tax exemptions and anti-union laws: for example, there can be no strikes unless unions give employers six weeks’ notice.
Nestle Jamaica refused to pay for the hours taken by trade union delegates to attend a meeting at the Ministry of Labour. To protest against this decision 130 workers at Nestle Jamaica in the central parish of St Catherine went on strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
.
Domestic work in Jamaica is precarious, with very poor wages that fall below the minimum wage, very limited if any access to social security, and little respect for labour rights and conditions. This situation hinders the exercise of the right to organise and collective bargaining
collective bargaining
The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.
See collective bargaining agreement
.
It is common practice among EPZ
export processing zone
A special industrial area in a country where imported materials are processed before being re-exported. Designed to attract mostly foreign investors by offering incentives such as exemptions from certain trade barriers, taxes, business regulations, and/or labour laws.
companies to threaten workers and create pro-employer “workers’ councils”, which interfere in the processing of complaints but are not allowed to engage in collective bargaining
collective bargaining
The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.
See collective bargaining agreement
on working conditions or minimum wages. As a result, no unions have so far been formed in the EPZ
export processing zone
A special industrial area in a country where imported materials are processed before being re-exported. Designed to attract mostly foreign investors by offering incentives such as exemptions from certain trade barriers, taxes, business regulations, and/or labour laws.
s.
It is estimated that 20% of workers belong to a union. Where unions already exist, managers in some companies try to have their recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. withdrawn. In the private sector, employers tend to dismiss unionised workers and then re-hire them on short-term contracts with lower benefits.
Although the right to strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
is not specifically protected by law, some strikes took place during the year. Nevertheless, workers that take part in strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
action risk dismissal. The Ministry of Labour intervened directly in some labour disputes as the law allows the Ministry of Labour to terminate any strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
.
It is estimated that 20% of workers belong to a union. In some companies, where a union already exists, managers have tried to get their recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. withdrawn. In the private sector, they have a tendency to dismiss unionised workers and then subsequently re-employ them on short-term contracts with lower benefits.
Human trafficking is a consequence of several factors affecting the country: Jamaica is a source, transit, and destination country for victims of human trafficking. Although the Jamaican government has taken some steps to prosecute those responsible for human trafficking, it does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination this scourge.