Enactment Date of the Employment Bill

The Prime Minister telephoned the President of BECon this morning, (Thursday, 27th December), in response to the letter sent him on the 24th December 2001 regarding the passage of the Employment Bill by the Senate. Although the Prime Minister regretted that no notice had been given to the private sector employers, he declared his feelings that the labour bills had been on hold long enough.

The Prime Minister stated the enactment date of the Employment Bill would be the 28th of February 2002. He further stated that the phase in period of the 40-hour workweek would be re-dated in the Bill so that upon enactment the standard workweek would be 44 hours and reduce to 40 hours on the 28th of February 2003. As for the redundancy provisions, the Prime Minister was resolute that no changes would be made.

Government Plans to Proceed With Remaining Labour Bills

The Prime Minister informed the President of BECon during the telephone conversation referred to in the above article that Government intends to proceed with the Minimum Wages Bill and the Health And Safety At Work Bill. BECon's President asked if employers would have an opportunity to meet with Government prior to the introduction into the House of the two remaining labour Bills. The Prime Minister responded in the negative, and went on to state that the amendments made to these Bills for the most part have been the removal of provisions objected to by employers. The Prime Minister did promise to send BECon a copy of the amendments.

According to the Prime Minister, the Minimum Wage Bill will provide for a minimum wage of $150 per week. All references to the Minimum Wage Council, which would have allowed various minimum wages in different job categories, have been removed from the Bill.

The Health And Safety At Work Bill has been modified by removing the various regulations initially proposed in this Bill and instead sets up a joint Public Sector/Private Sector Council that will deliberate on and recommend/determine health and safety regulations.

Technical Committee Concerns of the Two Remaining Labour Bills

BECon's technical committee has been promised a copy of the Employment Bill passed by Parliament as well as copies of the amendments made by Government to the Minimum Wages Bill and the Health And Safety At Work Bill. It is hoped that these documents will be obtained tomorrow, (Friday, 28th December).

By a macabre coincidence, the most recent versions of the two remaining labour bills in the possession of employers are dated September 11th, the day of the terrorist attacks in the United States. Until receipt of the amendments referred to by the Prime Minister, these are the documents we must go by.

Minimum Wages Bill
The proposed minimum wage is $150 per week, or $30 per day, or $4 per hour. Mathematically speaking, the daily and weekly minimum wages are the same, however the hourly minimum wage is equal to $160 per week for a 40-hour workweek. In the Economic Survey conducted by BECon's Technical Committee during the end of August this year, it was reported that approximately 6% of the business community would be affected to some degree by the minimum wage.

It is recognized that the economic survey does not truly represent small businesses, which were exempt from paying minimum wages in the version of the Bill that existed at the time of the survey; however, the September 11th version no longer provides that exemption. It is felt that the effects of this Bill have not been properly researched. In addition to the adverse effects it may have on small businesses, it may be that many working couples will no longer be able to afford the domestic help needed to watch their children, and one of the couple will have to withdraw themselves from the labour market.

This Bill also provides for Inspectors, not only for this Bill, but to "inspect" for compliance of the Employment Bill. This is objected to not only due to the fact that sufficient avenues exist for employees to seek redress via the Conciliation Process at the Ministry of Labour, the Tribunal Court, and even the Supreme Court, but also because the Prime Minister made it a point to exclude Inspectors from the Employment Bill. Removing the provision of Inspectors from the Employment Bill to make it more palatable, then to include a provision for Inspectors to inspect compliance of the Employment Bill in a different piece of legislation is misleading at best.

Health And Safety At Work Bill
Grave concerns have been expressed by the amount of regulation provided and the power given to the Inspector in this Bill. It is felt that this Bill is not practical and contains provisions that are impossible to achieve. Based on the amendments to this Bill outlined by the Prime Minister, further comment will wait until BECon is in receipt of those amendments.

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