From left, McIntosh and Nelson
Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter
ALVIN MCINTOSH, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, says it will not be "business as usual" as the ministry repositions itself to meet the changing labour environment.
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson announced the decision to reposition the ministry after a meeting with trade union representatives and Labour Minister Horace Dalley late last month.
LEADERSHIP ROLE
"Labour administration cannot be what it used to be. The ministry will have to be refocused. Employers will have to refocus and trade unions will have to refocus," explained Mr. McIntosh.
"I accept that the ministry will have to assume a leadership role in all of this, especially in terms of public education," he added.
The repositioning, he said, will involve continued institutional capacity building, changing the outlook of the ministry, continued training, improved customer service and giving greater focus to issues that were not previously pursued by the ministry.
"We have to think in terms of making Jamaica, especially the Jamaican labour force, to become able to compete regionally and internationally," Mr. McIntosh told The Gleaner recently. He added that public education is going to be a major function of the ministry.
However, Senator Dwight Nelson, president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), expects this repositioning to involve injection of "resources, both monetary and personnel, and examining the existing system in the ministry's operation that will enable them to meet their objective."
Senator Nelson argued that the ministry has far too long been treated as one of the 'Cinderella' ministries. "It must be highly regarded like any of the other top ministries," he reasoned.
Responding to this, Mr. McIntosh said, it does not necessarily mean more resources, but that resources will have to be strategically directed. "More funds will have to be allocated to the areas we consider to be critical to the disposition of the ministry."
He pointed out that reposit-ioning was not as simple as changing overnight, the objective of the ministry, but is an "ongoing business where you have to constantly review the environment."
The permanent secretary disclosed that the ministry for sometime had been on the books for restructuring, following recommendations from a committee that was established in 1995 by Prime Minister Patterson to examine the labour market.
He said that since then, some initiatives were pursued such as the development of a Labour Market Information System whereby employers are able to use the facilities to advertise jobs and where prospective employees can place their résumés on the system and get jobs.
PRODUCTIVITY CENTRE
A productivity centre was also established two years ago to promote the concept of productivity, and serve as a catalyst for the development and implementation of the productivity improvement initiatives within both the public and private sectors.
But Mr. McIntosh said that there was a lot of work for the centre to do in terms of training, sensitisation and public education.
