EACH year the Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF) conducts a State of the Industry Report, which is presented at its Workplace Convention in May. The general objective of the report is to examine current trends of key factors impacting on workplace performance.
This is done to equip employers with critical information for informed decision making. In 2000 the report focused on a wide range of issues impacting on workplace performance; these included trends in compensation, new work forms, trends in negotiation conciliation and dispute resolution. The 2001 report was confined to training & development.
The 2002 State of the Industry Report examined contract labour and to a lesser extent productivity incentive schemes. Below is an executive summary of the report.
Enterprise survey
Ninety respondents, from a random sample of over 250 organisations.
Enterprises had aggregate turnover greater than $1.3 billion and had a workforce of over 26,000.
Organisations drawn from all major sectors of the economy.
Survey included private and publicly traded firms and Government-controlled entities.
Engagement of contractor labour
Eighty-three per cent of enterprises indicated the engagement of contract labour in the last five years.
Organisations used contract labour mainly for jobs requiring unskilled personnel.
Contract labour usually constitutes a small fraction of the total labour force for most enterprises.
Union reaction
Employers in more than 2/3 of the enterprises felt that the union were either in support of contract labour or were indifferent to its introduction.
Most enterprises did not have discussions with unions prior to engaging contract labour.
Reasons
Employers' main reason cited for engaging contract labour was the desire to increase productivity and raise quality of work.
Improved flexibility and business uncertainty were also cited.
Advantages/benefits
Most enterprises indicated that a more manageable workforce was the major benefit derived from the engagement of contract labour.
Many enterprises also cited increased productivity and increased profitability.
Most enterprises indicated that contract labour was one of many initiatives introduced in an effort to increase competitiveness. Other included:
Increased use of technology
Increase in employee training
Introduction of productivity incentive schemes
Business process re-engineering
Worker survey
Over 120 persons engaged as contract 'workers' responded to the survey
Respondents spanned all categories, with the majority being unskilled.
Terms and conditions
Most contracts were written and had duration between 6 to 12 months.
Fifty-two per cent of respondents indicated that they opted for contract and 91 per cent stated that they fully understood the terms and conditions of their Contracts.
Most of the respondents felt they had a positive relationship with the other workers.
Advantages
Respondents cited an increase in take home pay, the ability to take on other jobs and flexibility as the major advantages experienced.
Disadvantages
The loss/reduction in fringe benefits and union status were the major disadvantages cited.
Less than 30 per cent of respondents indicated that they were less motivated because of decreased job security.
Attitude toward contract labour
Most respondents indicated that they were either comfortable with or enthusiastic about contract labour.
Twenty-eight per cent were indifferent, while 28 per cent were dissatisfied with contract labour.
