Ruddy Thomas, vice-president of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), has said that the pandemic presents an opportunity to overhaul existing pieces of labour relations legislation, which have been around since the 1940s; and for them to be updated to address issues related to remote work.

Thomas said that the pandemic is a catalysis, or accelerant, in some regard, as it has propelled us to deal with several matters, of which an overhaul of some of our labour laws is one thing

“We have been crying for the overhaul of some of them (legislation), for some time; and we know that there is going to have to be legislative changes to accommodate the new world of work,” he said.

Thomas made those comments while addressing a Labour Day discussion titled ’From Raising Cane to Remote Work’, which was organised by the JN Foundation.

O’Neil Grant, president of the Jamaica Civil Service Association, pointed out that the conditions of the worker in a remote setting have not been accurately assessed.

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