Charles

An impending wave of job cuts triggered by the slowdown of the global economy has spurred Jamaica's Labour Minister Pearnel Charles to schedule a meeting with trade unions next week to head off the developing crisis.

According to Charles, several companies have indicated to the ministry that they will send home hundreds, if not thousands, of workers in the coming months.

"Based on the state of the talks, I cannot name the entities as some have not even spoken to their workers yet," Charles said.

"We have to take preventative measures and that's what we are doing now. We are in discussions with the trade unions and the management of various companies to see how we can manage the inevitable."

The labour minister points to the global economic meltdown as the cause of the problem facing local firms.

"There are signs that we are going to be greatly affected in many areas of industry, and there are signs that many workers will be laid off," the labour minister told The Gleaner.

Express concerns

It is a concern shared by the trade union movement, which is scheduled to meet with Charles next Tuesday.

"We are going to express our concerns about the possible impact of the global financial meltdown. We understand that there are dark clouds above the bauxite sector and the unions which represent theworkers there will present proposals on what can be done," Wayne Jones, president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions, told The Gleaner.

Jones and his trade union colleagues will go to Tuesday's meeting armed with facts about the contraction in the local labour market, even before the worldwide economic downturn started.

The latest figures from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) show Jamaica's unemployment rate at 11.9 per cent at the end of April.

This is a worsening of the situation from the start of the year, when the unemployment rate was 10.2 per cent.

Thousands of jobs have been lost in the United States and Europe since the financial crisis started. Charles argues that Jamaica would not escape the domino effect.

Not as strong

"If there is disruption abroad, it can't be that we will miss it here. You can't believe that Jamaica is isolated from those countries that are suffering, and we are not as strong as them, so why would we not suffer?" Charles asked.

His comments came on the same day that government officials in China admitted that country's unemployment rate was set to rise amid worries that economic problems could lead to social unrest.

The Rolls-Royce Group also announced yesterday that it plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs next year as demand for its products slumps amid the market slowdown, joining other automakers which have reduced staff.

The international financial sector has also looked to cut staff in a bid to stay afloat, with banking giant Citigroup announcing on Wednesday that it will be cutting 50,000 staff as the economic crisis worsens.

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