Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Jamaica (Ratification: 1962)

Article 4 of the Convention. Promotion of collective bargaining. Recognition of organizations for the purposes of collective bargaining. For several years, the Committee has requested the Government to amend section 5(5) of the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act (LRIDA) and section 3(1) of its regulations with a view to ensuring that the threshold required for entering into collective bargaining does not constitute an obstacle to the promotion of free and voluntary collective bargaining. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a consultant has been engaged to review the LRIDA in the 2024–25 fiscal year and that both the threshold required for entering into collective bargaining and the limitations on collective bargaining denounced by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in 2015 will be taken into consideration. Highlighting the long-standing nature of its request, the Committee firmly expects that the Government will take without further delay the necessary measures, to amend, in consultation with the representative social partners, its legislation in order to: (i) ensure that if no union reaches the required threshold to be recognized as a bargaining agent, unions are given the possibility to negotiate, jointly or separately, at least on behalf of their own members; (ii) recognize the right of any organization which in a previous ballot failed to secure a sufficiently large number of votes to request a new election after a stipulated period; and (iii) recognize the right of any new organization other than the previously certified organization to demand a new ballot after a reasonable period has elapsed. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the developments in this regard.

Promotion of collective bargaining in the public sector. The Committee previously noted the observations of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) transmitted with the Government’s report in 2021, which alleged that the adoption of negotiation protocols modified the modalities of collective bargaining by allegedly precluding direct interactions between workers’ representatives and decision-makers in the public sector. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (i) the negotiation protocols in the public sector, established to create a more structured and transparent bargaining process, have no new implications; (ii) in 2015, a policy was introduced to guide government entities, fostering positive relations between management and employees, trust and good faith negotiations; (iii) In 2017, a Public Sector Negotiation Framework was established. This framework facilitates the completion of negotiations and provides mechanisms for resolving impasses. Consequently, the Government asserts that the JCTU’s allegation that direct interaction with decision-makers is the normal process suggests a misleading of the facts. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the mentioned negotiation protocols and policy. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the number of collective agreements concluded in this sector and the number of workers covered.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (i) there are currently 17 collective agreements in force in several industries, including transportation, financial services, aviation and manufacturing; (ii) it lacks data on the existence of Joint Industrial Councils; (iii) however, the National Minimum Wage Advisory Commission provides recommendations on minimum wage across industries; and (iv) the Industrial Relations Department supports unions and organizations in conducting Representational Rights Polls by managing claims, coordinating dates, presiding over the polls and overseeing the final ballot count. On the basis of these elements, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to effectively promote collective bargaining at all levels, including at the multi-employer level and sectoral level. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the number of collective agreements concluded and in force, the sectors concerned, specifying the number of workers covered.

The Committee reminds the Government of the possibility to avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office.