MINISTER OF Justice A.J. Nicholson wants to meet with private sector organisations to put a stop to the threat of non-payment and firing of employees called to jury duty by the State.
Minister Nicholson, who is also the attorney-general, told journalists yesterday that he has been receiving disturbing reports that some private sector employers have been unwilling to provide time off to workers called up for jury service.
"When they do go and do the jury service, sometimes these employers fire them," the attorney-general claimed, shortly after presiding over the first-ever presentation of official seals to the island's custodes and justices of the peace at the Medallion Hall Hotel, St. Andrew.
AMICABLE CONCLUSION
"I intend to ask for a meeting very early with the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and the allied private sector organisations so that we can come to some amicable and fruitful conclusion," Minister Nicholson said. He also noted that it is illegal to penalise employees who are unable to attend work because of jury duty.
The Minister added that the Government had, before now, opted not to move against the restrictions placed by private sector entities because there have always been enough persons to fill the jury boxes and hence no real problem.
"(But) it has arisen now that there is a problem because people for many reasons do not want to do jury service... for fear and things like that," he noted. "Now if there is an added dimension of the employers stopping them from doing the jury service, that cannot be condoned and so we have to move and step on that."
REPORTED
Employers who refuse to pay or threaten to fire employees called to jury duty can be reported to the Registrar of the Supreme Court so that the matter can be investigated. An employer who dismisses a worker who was summoned for jury service, prevents the worker from attending court, or refuses to pay the worker can be cited for contempt of court. If convicted, the employer can be fined or imprisoned.
The custos of each parish plays an integral role in the selection of justices who constitute a special panel for the purpose of settling the jury list for that parish.
