Munroe INDEPENDENT SENATOR, Dr. Trevor Munroe, wants the Senate to support the provisions of the Labour Relations Code (LRC) regarding redundancies.
The Senator tabled a motion to that effect in the Senate, last Friday. He noted that the LRC requires employers, in so far as is consistent with operational efficiency, to consult with the workers or their representatives and take all reasonable steps to avoid redundancies.
The Code requires employers to consult with workers to evolve contingency plans with respect to redundancies in order to ensure that workers do not face "undue hardships." Employers are also required to inform the workers, trade unions and the Minister of Labour as soon as redundancies become evident and to actively assist the workers in finding alternative employment.
Dr. Munroe's resolution also called on the Government and relevant organisations, such as the Jamaica Employer Feder-ation, to take the necessary steps to familiarise employers with the LRC and to ensure their observation of the Code.
Senator Munroe said this was necessary because some employers were violating the Code by "springing overnight redundancies on workers," among other things.
The resolution also seemed to have been triggered by the recent Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) award involving three employees of the Jamaica Flour Mills, which the company has since taken to court.
The IDT ruled that three workers, who were made redundant by the Flour Mills in August 1999, should be reinstated, although two of them had accepted their redundancy payments. The Tribunal said it had been guided by the Code, but noted that employers often did not comply with the Code, on the basis that it is not enacted law but a set of guidelines and, therefore, is not binding.
