AS PART of the Government's thrust to reform the labour market, a flexible-work week arrangement is being proposed. Under this system workers will be required to work 40 hours over seven days instead of five days. Saturday and Sunday will be treated as ordinary working days. Persons could therefore work on any five of the seven days and be flexible in their work hours as well.
Against this background, we talked to some persons in the shipping industry to get their views on the issue. We asked them to respond to the question: "Do you think the flexible work week being proposed by the Government is a positive move for the country?
Grantley Stephenson, president of the Shipping Association of Jamaica says: "On the Port of Kingston we have found that the flexi-work week, in which our port labour works any five out of seven days, contributes significantly to our efficiency and competitiveness. This is not new within the region as other ports already have this practice in place. Shipping is a 24 hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, 52 weeks-a-year operation worldwide, and shipping lines expect productivity and cost effective service in whatever port they call. We operate in a fiercely competitive environment and if we intend to retain and continue attracting large shipping lines and increase employment, any employer of port labour must maintain a tight rein on cost and focus on the deployment of all its resources including its employees".
"I think the flexi-work week presents an opportunity for both workers and employers. It provides the opportunity for businesses to improve output and such an arrangement would also be beneficial for staff who can schedule their days better. It may work for some and it won't work for others. Certainly, we would not want to apply a flexi-time for all levels of employees, but those in specific areas", notes Patrick Burgess, managing director of Carib Star Shipping.
In his comments, Alister Cooke, general manager of Kingston Wharves Limited, submits: "I believe that embracing this system is the only way the country can move forward in today's globalised environment. We would have a lot less work on the Port of Kingston if it were not for this flexible time".
EXTENDED WORKING HOURS
Winston McFarlane, industrial relations manager of the Port Authority of Jamaica, thinks that Jamaica not only needs a flexible work week, but "we need extended working hours for the post offices, tax offices and other agencies which provide services for the public". "Why on earth are they closed on Saturdays (for instance) when it would be most convenient for many people to do business then? Perhaps, what we do need most of all is greater flexibility in our thought processes and attitude toward work. We may also want to consider doing more and talking less!" he comments.
Russell Keith, industrial relations manager of Shipping Association of Jamaica, explains that in the business of shipping such a system is necessary to enable the country to compete effectively with the rest of the world. "Originally, the regular work time did not lend itself to efficiency in the shipping industry as this sector operates on a seven day per week, 365 days a year arrangement. Formerly, we were obliged to pay overtime on Saturday and Sunday irrespective of whether a worker had worked 40 straight-time hours, prior to the weekend... I believe a flexi-work week is a good thing, given the fact of globalisation and also because we have to compete with other ports, which have their work week organised in an any five of seven days system. We have to organise our system so that we will not be at a disadvantage as we seek to compete worldwide," he says.
Managing director of Kingston Terminal Operators, Robert Kinlocke points out: "Today's globalised environment demands tremendous flexibility from organisations in order to be competitive. Indeed, shipping lines themselves are extremely flexible and move easily from port to port in search of the most attractive arrangement in terms of cost. It is therefore, imperative that we avail ourselves of every opportunity to contain cost, and the introduction of the flexible work week is one such opportunity. It is a fact that the introduction of the flexible workweek on the port in 1999 has proven to be beneficial to the country in that it has assisted greatly in containing overtime cost. As a consequence, business has grown by 30 per cent over this two-year period, January 1999 to December 2000. I have no doubt, therefore, that the flexible workweek can assist other sectors of the economy in a similar way".
