JEF says companies ready for enforcement of Sexual Harassment Act

 

Companies represented by the Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF) have for the last year and a half been preparing for the enforcement of the Sexual Harassment Protection and Prevention Act which comes into effect on Monday.

 

JEF President David Wan says the more than 300 members, which include large, medium sized and small businesses, are in a fair state of readiness.

 

Mr. Wan says the focus has been on educating the managers of these companies about the provisions of the Act. 

 

"We've had several fora for members and it is primarily the HR managers and the CEOs of the companies that attend these fora; it's not actually the employees themselves. But, you know, we're of the impression that most of our membership has developed policies as well as publicised them whether within a code of conduct that they have for the company or separately as a standalone policy. So we think most of our members are prepared as they can be," he told Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines on Monday. 

 

He said CEOs and human resource managers have been conducting sensitisation sessions with their employees. 

 

"We've had many requests for templates that they can use to construct their sexual harassment policy, that they can either put up on their website or as a separate paper document or housed within a general code of conduct that is distributed and hopefully signed off by employers," he added. 

 

The sexual harassment legislation contemplates sexual harassment issues in the workplace, schools, correctional institutions, places of safety, nursing homes, medical and psychiatric facilities, among other places.

 

 

St. Patrice Ennis, General Secretary of the Union of Technical Administrative and Supervisory Personnel (UTASP), said conversations surrounding the Sexual Harassment Act have not been taking place in government institutions with which his union is associated.

 

Mr. Ennis said the new public sector compensation review is still the most talked about issue.

 

He has welcomed the Sexual Harassment Act, noting that public and private sector entities have been dealing with quite a few sexual harassment cases which often leave complainants, especially contract workers, at a disadvantage. 

 

"With this [law] now capturing such category of workers or category of employment then I think it augurs well for most people in the work space, but [there is] not a lot of discussion where it is concerned. I gather as it takes up speed and as it comes into effect and persons are required to put the protocol in place - and unions would be involved in that - then I expect there to be more concern," he said. 

 

Mr. Ennis was also speaking on Beyond the Headlines on Monday.