As the industrial relations landscape continues to take a battering from the stormy economic climate, it is estimated that up to 30,000 Jamaicans have lost their jobs since the global crisis unleashed its effects over a year ago.

Prominent players in the labour arena are agreeing that the number of casualties from job losses continues to soar with each passing day.

President of the Jamaica Employers' Federation, Wayne Chen, told The Gleaner that a conservative estimate of the number of persons who have been sent home had climbed to between 25,000 and 30,000 Jamaicans since the onset of the crisis.

Chen said the number at April 2009 - the start of the financial year - stood at in excess of 20,000.

The JEF boss suggested that the figure could be far in excess of this amount because of the size of the informal economy, which was difficult to measure.

The formal economy

"It's (the figure) fluid because of the size of the informal economy ... so the figure we have is confined to the formal economy," Chen said.

Veteran trade unionist Clive Dobson agreed.

He said that while the precise figures are difficult to determine, it was clear that more than 25,000 Jamaicans have been pushed out of work.

Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles, acknowledging that the actual redundancy figure should be around 20,000, said the numbers obtained by his ministry were calculated from data taken from people who have registered under the ministry's redundancy requirements.

The labour minister said the data were compiled from larger firms which have been forced to make positions redundant because of the financial crisis.

He said small businesses were less likely to register with the ministry.

The continued fallout in the bauxite sector and the scaling down of businesses in the tourist resorts, along with smaller companies throughout the island, have had a ripple effect on employment.

There is yet to be any fallout from the island's largest employer, the Government, but the prospects for the next financial year look grim.

Public-sector workers are protected by the latest memorandum of understanding between the Government and the trade-union movement.

However, the Government is under pressure to reduce the $125-billion wage bill it is required to fork out.

The wage bill, which has increased from $84 billion since the JLP administration came to office two years ago, represents 10.8 per cent of GDP.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has said it is desirable that the figure be reduced and the International Monetary Fund has reportedly recommended that the figure should stand no higher than 9.5 per cent of GDP.

Golding has indicated that public-sector workers would be protected until the end of the 2009-2010 financial year.

gary.spaulding@gleanerjm.com