Junior Social Protection Minister Simona Broomes yesterday announced plans to visit media houses about addressing numerous complaints made by workers.
Broomes plans to visit media houses soon in hopes of interacting with employers about possible ways to deal with the issues affecting their workers.
Broomes told a news conference that the ministry has been receiving many complaints from media workers, include a large percentage of reporters.
Some of the major concerns include annual leave, days off, poor record keeping, poor lunch areas, poor working conditions and unpaid overtime. A lot of complaints, she said, had been disregarded by the previous government but they will now be dealt with according to the law.
“The law is clear, eight hours and anything else over that is consider overtime,” she said.
According to Broomes, from the many letters and calls she received the individuals feared being identified and victimised but she emphasised that everyone is entitled to their rights. She also said that she is aware that reporters usually go beyond their call of duty, which should be recognised.
Like every other category of employees, Broomes said, media workers should be treated equally and the employers should change their approach in how they deal with them and the labour laws should be followed.
“Employees are out there and they feel like they don’t have a voice but they do,” she said.
“My role as a Minister is to be that peacemaker between the employers and employees. Our aim is to strengthen unions so that we can protect workers,” she added, while noting that not just media houses but all organisations, whether state-run or privately-owned, would be addressed.
Also present at the press conference were Deputy Chief Labour Officer Lydia Greene and consultant Francis Carryl. According to Greene, while employers often see the ministry as being at war with them, what they need to understand is that the ministry is an enforcement agency that is acquainted with the laws and has to ensure they are adhered to. She also referred to the Occupational and Safety Health Act, which she said is not for employers alone but also for supervisors and workers. “The employers must ensure that his place has a condition that won’t affect the worker physically or mentally but rather it must be fit for work,” she said.
