Government Committed to Decent Work Agenda – PM Holness
Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the people must be at the center of development.
The Prime Minister in his remarks at the high-level meeting of the 108th Session (Centenary) of the International Labour Conference this morning (June 12), in Geneva, Switzerland said the Jamaican Government recognizes the social contracts which bind stakeholders. He said several stakeholders have sacrificed over years which has led to the country’s economic stability.
The Prime Minister declares that where there is shared sacrifice there must be shared prosperity with the people.
“The best way to place people at the center of development and share prosperity is to give them the opportunity to work, to be engaged in that sacred process of transforming their labour and creativity into wealth, earning a living from their effort. Eating their own bread, not by crime, not by immoral means, not by dependency, not by pity; but by work!”, said Prime Minister Holness.
He further underscored that the Government is not only seeking to expand employment in Jamaica. He said keen attention is also being paid to the quality of jobs and the conditions of work.
“We are committed to the Decent Work agenda through empowering our citizens with education and training to make them marketable, employable and productive in a competitive labour market and economy”, said Prime Minister Holness.
Prime Minister Holness used the opportunity as he spoke to global leaders to also highlight the training modalities and apprenticeship initiatives such as the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE), the Jamaica National Service Corps and the Career Advancement Programme that the government has put in place to allow for Jamaicans to be “workforce-ready”.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister asserted that workers should be able to create wealth and own assets from decent work.
The Prime Minister also noted that much more needs to be done for the Jamaican worker however he said progress is being made within a cooperative and collaborative framework of social consensus by building respect for the people as they are the center of development.
“We must ensure that the future work is managed in a strategic, sustainable, transformative manner that leaves no one behind as we seek to move our people from poverty to prosperity”, declared Prime Minister Holness.