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Thursday, 20 November 2008
The global financial meltdown has started to take a toll on Jamaica with the Ministry of Labour reporting that a spate of job cuts is on the horizon.
Labour Minister Pearnel Charles has confirmed that several locally based companies, especially those with overseas ties, have written to his Ministry advising that redundancies have started and will intensify.
Speaking with RJR News Wednesday night, Mr. Charles declined to state which sectors will be affected.
He said companies that have started cutting jobs have been complying with a request from his Ministry for information on the number of workers to be sent home.
"We have been alerted by a number of industries of problems they are going to face or facing right now, particularly companies which have large part of their business overseas."
Committee to minimize fall-out
Warnings of looming job cuts have prompted the Ministry to announce the establishment of a tripartite committee comprising representatives of the government, the trade union movement and employers.
The committee, will among other things, look at ways to minimize the fallout in Jamaica's labour force.
Mr. Charles said the members of the committee would be named shortly.
News of the impending job losses follows reports of mass layoffs in the United States.
It is estimated that more than one million Americans will lose their jobs before the end of the year as the global economic crisis deepens.
In the largest round of layoffs, banking giant Citigroup on Monday announced that it would cut 52,000 jobs in coming months, either by attrition, outright layoffs or by selling some of its businesses.
The global financial meltdown has started to take a toll on Jamaica with the Ministry of Labour reporting that a spate of job cuts is on the horizon.
Labour Minister Pearnel Charles has confirmed that several locally based companies, especially those with overseas ties, have written to his Ministry advising that redundancies have started and will intensify.
Speaking with RJR News Wednesday night, Mr. Charles declined to state which sectors will be affected.
He said companies that have started cutting jobs have been complying with a request from his Ministry for information on the number of workers to be sent home.
"We have been alerted by a number of industries of problems they are going to face or facing right now, particularly companies which have large part of their business overseas."
Committee to minimize fall-out
Warnings of looming job cuts have prompted the Ministry to announce the establishment of a tripartite committee comprising representatives of the government, the trade union movement and employers.
The committee, will among other things, look at ways to minimize the fallout in Jamaica's labour force.
Mr. Charles said the members of the committee would be named shortly.
News of the impending job losses follows reports of mass layoffs in the United States.
It is estimated that more than one million Americans will lose their jobs before the end of the year as the global economic crisis deepens.
In the largest round of layoffs, banking giant Citigroup on Monday announced that it would cut 52,000 jobs in coming months, either by attrition, outright layoffs or by selling some of its businesses.
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