THE SLOW pace of labour reform is getting slower still, what with obstacles ranging from the secular concerns of workers and management to the spiritual tenets of the Church. At issue is the Government's objective of implementing the concept of flexi-time -- a 40-hour week of flexible working hours in which each day would be treated the same.
The arrangement would banish the notion of premium payment for weekend work and with overtime applying only if the 40-hour limit is passed. Within that limit the flexibility would allow for the length of work days to be negotiated.
There is still no final agreement at the level of the tripartite Labour Advisory Committee (LAC) as to the length of work days. Indications are that a Green Paper will be prepared for Parliament as a basis for wider public debate.
In the meantime church leaders have been sounding alarms at the prospect that flexi-time could banish the reverence for sabbath observance on Saturdays or Sundays. Minister of Labour, Donald Buchanan, and the LAC have met with church leaders in an attempt to allay their fears.
As we understand it, the Government is responding to the imperatives of globalisation in which trading partners have switched to alternative work schedule systems which are less costly and more efficient.
To judge from the polemic attack on flexi-time by Father Richard Ho Lung in last Saturday's Gleaner, there is still strong spiritual objection to what is seen as a blow to sabbath observance.
Against this stance is the survey by the Jamaica Employers Federation last year which found that local companies will welcome the flexible work arrangement.
With due respect to spiritual values, we think the alarms sounded by church leaders are not as calamitous as they make out. True enough, Sabbath observance has seen secular intrusion increase over the years, sports being a prominent example. But we think the religious commitment of the broad mass of Jamaicans remains intact.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.
