Jamaica to increase formal employment in domestic work, agriculture and fisheries
Through an ILO-funded initiative, government and social partners will seek to reduce vulnerabilities of informal businesses and workers in three sectors
A new project intended to help informal workers and businesses in the domestic services, agriculture and fisheries sectors in Jamaica make the necessary transformations to be able to fully participate and benefit from formal economy will soon be underway.
The 15-month Jamaica Formalization Project will receive ILO financial and technical assistance to strengthen policies on income security, social protection and other incentives for formalization. It will also feature a public awareness and sensitization campaign to clarify the understanding of procedures and advantages for businesses and workers to make the shift to the formal economy.
The programme comes at a time when the country is advancing in its planning and implementation of actions for recovery and longer-term resilience from the devastating economic and social effects of the pandemic. In particular, the worst impacts of COVID-19 have been felt by persons in the large informal workforce, including 45,000 female domestic workers and 200,000 fishers / agriculture workers who are not eligible for social security schemes and emergency economic relief programmes.
“One of the problems with informality is that it predisposes operators to a lack of access to finance, markets, building of trade relationships as well as other resources such as technology, that can make them more productive, competitive and innovative. This project is, therefore, a significant intervention that can lead to a major transformation of the Jamaican economy,” explained the Honourable Audley Shaw, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce.
Key national collaborating partners will include:
The ILO has had a keen interest in advancing formalization in Jamaica since 2014. More recently, in 2019, the Caribbean Office supported the development of the National Transition to Formality Action Plan for 2020 – 2022. An official high-level launch of the Plan is expected to take place in early 2021, and will mark the official launch of the project as well.
“The ILO is pleased to support this project to help guide the informal areas of these sectors toward formality through targeted research, capacity building and business development processes. Our Caribbean team of Specialists is committed to working with the Jamaican government, workers’ organizations, employers’ organizations, social security agencies and training institutions to develop and implement effective policies and programmes that ensure decent and sustainable working conditions for persons in these sectors while decreasing the economic vulnerabilities of workers,” said Dennis Zulu, Director of the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean.
The 15-month Jamaica Formalization Project will receive ILO financial and technical assistance to strengthen policies on income security, social protection and other incentives for formalization. It will also feature a public awareness and sensitization campaign to clarify the understanding of procedures and advantages for businesses and workers to make the shift to the formal economy.
The programme comes at a time when the country is advancing in its planning and implementation of actions for recovery and longer-term resilience from the devastating economic and social effects of the pandemic. In particular, the worst impacts of COVID-19 have been felt by persons in the large informal workforce, including 45,000 female domestic workers and 200,000 fishers / agriculture workers who are not eligible for social security schemes and emergency economic relief programmes.
“One of the problems with informality is that it predisposes operators to a lack of access to finance, markets, building of trade relationships as well as other resources such as technology, that can make them more productive, competitive and innovative. This project is, therefore, a significant intervention that can lead to a major transformation of the Jamaican economy,” explained the Honourable Audley Shaw, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce.
Key national collaborating partners will include:
- Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS)
- Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Investment
- Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF)
- Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA)
- National Housing Trust
- HEART Trust / National Training Authority
- Jamaica Household Workers Union
- Jamaica Fishermen Cooperative Union
- Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions
- Jamaica Employers Federation
- support for agriculture enterprise development for formalization of micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses;
- development of training curricula for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) certification linked to fishers’ occupations and needs; and
- technical and social dialogue capacity building for workers’ and employers’ organizations to review and revise legislation and in tripartite negotiations on wages and benefits for domestic workers.
The ILO has had a keen interest in advancing formalization in Jamaica since 2014. More recently, in 2019, the Caribbean Office supported the development of the National Transition to Formality Action Plan for 2020 – 2022. An official high-level launch of the Plan is expected to take place in early 2021, and will mark the official launch of the project as well.
“The ILO is pleased to support this project to help guide the informal areas of these sectors toward formality through targeted research, capacity building and business development processes. Our Caribbean team of Specialists is committed to working with the Jamaican government, workers’ organizations, employers’ organizations, social security agencies and training institutions to develop and implement effective policies and programmes that ensure decent and sustainable working conditions for persons in these sectors while decreasing the economic vulnerabilities of workers,” said Dennis Zulu, Director of the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean.