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Dated: 1 March 2003
Do you think Jamaica, like most developing countries, faces a dilemma in the
world of work? Well, president of the Jamaica Employer's Federation, Mr. Herbert
Lewis, thinks so, and indeed said he has the prescription.
"I neither think it is in past experience, nor is it in the status quo,"
said Mr. Lewis in an address to attendees at the recent Manpower & Maintenances
Services Limited Symposium, ‘Achieving Efficiency and Effectiveness Through
Corporate Restructuring’, held at the Hilton Hotel in Kingston.
Before writing his prescription, however, Mr. Lewis first called upon employees
to adjust their familiar role to their occupational ones, as he found it unfortunate
that the effort made by an employer didn't enjoy the level of appreciation by
either client or the employee for the part they are playing to relieve work
related stress.
"Today, work-induced stress, or to use a more expressive term —
neurosis," said Mr. Lewis, "has become a major concern as the work
and the lack of it were sources of the problem. Therefore, we need to recognise
that the source of and solution to many problems of stress and health can be,
and sometimes must be social or structural rather than individual. The study
of work stress, social support and health, is inherently a social and psychological
problem, involving interplay between the nature of individuals and the nature
of the social environment and social structure in which we are."
Arguing that there was no question there were employers who tended to treat
workers as if they did not have responsibilities other than those of the employees,
Mr. Lewis said that if adjustments were to be made, the employees would be expected
to adjust their familial role to their occupational ones."
Much of the malaise in the workplace, he stated, was rooted in greed, envy,
a perverse uneasiness to understand, and the acceptance that what the service
provider was experiencing, sometimes, was a greater than those for whom the
service was being provided, and thus were responsible for the level of stress
they were experiencing. Therefore, it was his belief that "greed"
was responsible for driving investors and potential investors either out of
the country or away from businesses that would create jobs and grow our economy.
Asking (tongue-in-cheek) whose turn it was going to be to feel the wrath, Mr.
Lewis noted that most businesspersons were nervous, frightened, and were being
cowed into a strange sort of submission. "Instead of creative energies
being released to create jobs by investing," he argued, "some employers
are already developing ulcers and various heart conditions, and many are quietly
searching for alternative opportunities."
Due to the state of which the Jamaican economy now finds itself, Mr. Lewis
believes that investors' margin of profit are seriously getting smaller and
smaller each year, and as a consequence, the race to get a slice of the cake
has become a fight to the finish in which no one will be seen as a clear winner.
Therefore discontent, he further notes will emerge on a daily basis among those
who have not been fortunate or industrious enough to secure a share of the cake.
This he believes will eventually overflow the limits of restraint and paving
the way for more crime and violence.
Jamaica, like other developing countries, he continued, faces a dilemma in
the world of work. What is the prescription? Before enumerating what he considers
"certain clear principles," Mr. Lewis put forward the notion that
the work unit in this country must be based on a social contract between the
government, employers and the worker and their representative unions.
Among the "certain clear principles," he enunciated were: The needs
and working conditions of workers must be humane, not something they are to
fight and revolt for.:
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Profit is a necessary reward for initiative and risk-taking
and a legitimate return to maintain and expand the capital stock of production
unit |
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In any assignment, the worker must give more than a fair day's work,
always thinking of those unemployed who may be employed if the business
does well. |
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Each firm should collectively work towards setting up effective mechanism
in its peculiar circumstances to allow for two-way communication. |
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Management must maintain the right to manage his or her business. |
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Each organisation should assume some corporate responsibility for a beneficial
social impact. |
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Conservation of capital and efficient use of resources is as much a responsibility
of the worker as of the manager or owner of the business. |
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Management should seek to provide rewards for initiative that goes beyond
the earned wage. |
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Every worker should see skill development as a constant pursuit and management
should seriously consider allowing time and actively seek opportunities
for individual and collective learning. |
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In the broadest term, government must create a climate conducive to investment.
Unless this climate is present, no economy can hope to grow; no job created. |
In conclusion, the JEF president noted that the present sorry state in which
the Jamaican economy finds itself, makes it imperative for government to understand
its role and to ensure that employees, who were fortunate to secure employment,
treat their jobs with respect and commitment.
"I am sure that if these two partners - government and employees - play
their part," Mr. Lewis concluded, "then employers will be only too
happy to risk their investment, knowing full well that their investment will
be secure and their efforts will be not be in vain."
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