Bridging existing pay gap between the sexes

Buchanan

LABOUR and Social Security Minister, Donald Buchanan, has suggested the bridging of existing pay gaps between men and women at the workplace, as research and observation have shown a pattern of gender injustice and discrimination in the allocation of jobs and salaries.

"Let there be equal pay for equal work. Let the main criteria for jobs and pay be the proper mix of qualification, training, experience and performance. Let discrimination be banished from all sectors in the work environment and from society in general," the Minister declared.

He encouraged persons to remember and be faithful to the idea that all salary and wage earners have a responsibility and a duty to deliver "value for money."

"This doctrine requires the right all-round conditions. Whatever opportunities exist must be made available to all categories of workers. Employers must be committed to the best practices in management and industrial relations. All must be responsible for ensuring that there is social stability," Mr. Buchanan emphasised.

He was speaking at the launch of the 2001 wage, salary and benefits survey for supervisory, clerical and hourly-rated employees by the Jamaica Employers' Federation.

The Minister said the survey pointed to the importance of non-material components of the reward package. "The study strongly suggests that the direct monetary components of the compensation package must aim to create worksites that are healthy, clean and safe," he said.

Compensation package

Mr. Buchanan said the modern compensation package placed the highest priority on the worker at every level and was sensitive to the promotion and protection of rights at the workplace.

"So the lessons are clear. We too are expected to modernise the compensation package. We are expected to invest in better educated workers so that they may become more productive and more committed," he said.

The Minister said the category of workers surveyed constituted the centre of gravity of the productive process. "They are crucial to organising and facilitating production and wealth and provide the essential linkages between management and the various operating levels," he said.

He noted, however, that several employees within this category were not always recognised as significant productive agents.

"Often they tend to enjoy the least secure employment contracts or arrangements. They often complain about being excluded from exciting work and decisions. In many cases too, the attractive opportunities for training and career advancement are least available to them," he observed.

In light of this, Mr. Buchanan said employers and managers needed to create more opportunities for the training of that level of workers and open wider space for their creative expressions.

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