( l - r ) Charles, Clarke

EIGHT YEARS after the tabling of a green paper in Parliament on flexible work arrangements, a joint select committee reviewing the issue yesterday signalled that it has completed its deliberations.

A report will be submitted to Parliament shortly on the far-reaching recommendations made by the committee.

Concluding months of gruelling discussion on 'flexi' workweek, the committee agreed on four critical points that will facilitate the implementation of this new work arrangement.

40-hour workweek

The committee has established that all seven days of the week are to be regarded as normal workdays and that the workday should consist of a maximum of 12 hours.

Further, it has been agreed that the workweek should consist of 40 hours. However, overtime will only be applicable after a worker completes 40 hours of work within a workweek.

These recommendations, if accepted by the House of Representatives, would nullify the existing eight-hour work-day arrangement. This means that the employer and em-ployee could now negotiate a designated time frame for working each day, as long as it does not exceed 12 hours per day.

At yesterday's committee sitting, members wrestled for nearly one hour to arrive at consensus on the proposed new work arrangements.

Committee member Navel Clarke, who is also a trade unionist, cautioned against an employer abusing the rights of workers. He said some employers might want to impose a mandatory 12-hour workday on employees.

No handcuffing of worker

Committee chairman Pearnel Charles moved to allay concerns that the worker would be left at the mercy of the employer.

"You can't terminate a man because he says he cannot do more than eight hours," he said. Charles noted that if the employer insisted on having his way, this would run counter to the spirit of 'flexi' workweek.

"There is no handcuffing of the worker and the management into a system by dictation. It's negotiations we are talking about," he added.

Day of worship

On the question of the workers' right to worship on a particular day, the committee appeared to have concluded that this issue should be resolved through negotiations between the employer and employee.

"'Flexi' workweek is the best protection that any Christian has in the workplace at this time, because it requires management and workers to sit down at the bargaining table and negotiate which five days they work out of the seven workdays," Charles said.

Clarke recommended that the 'flexi' work arrangements should be reviewed by Parlia-ment after the first two years of implementation. This sug-gestion was supported by the committee.

The Labour Advisory Committee first discussed 'flexi' workweek in 1997.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com