There is a wind blowing in the direction of changing the Religious Liberty concept as it relates to the work place in Jamaica .
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The right To Worship
As Human
beings we all have rights such as the right to life ,property, education, etc. this includes religious liberty right. In Jamaica the law of Religious Liberty
is entrenched the Jamaican Constitution.
and can be found in the Charter of rights in The Jamaican Constitution.
The Religious liberty Right
17.-(1) Every person shall have the right to freedom
of religion including the freedom to change his religion and the right, either
alone or in community with others and both in public and in private, to
18 [No1] manifest and propagate his religion in worship,
teaching, practice and observance.
(2) The constitution of a religious body or denomination
shall not be altered except with the consent of the governing authority of that
body or denomination.
(3) Every religious body or denomination shall have the right
to provide religious instruction for persons of that body or denomination in
the course of any education provided by that body or denomination whether or
not that body or denomination is in receipt of any government subsidy, grant or
other form of financial assistance designed to meet, in whole or in part, the
cost of such course of education.
(4) No person
attending any place of education, except with his own consent (or, if he is a
minor, the consent of his parent or guardian) shall be required to receive
religious instruction, or to take part in or attend any religious ceremony or
observance, which relates to a religion or religious body or denomination other
than his own.
The Charter of Fundamental
Rights and Freedoms (Constitutional Amendment) Act, 2011
There is a growing concern in Jamaica that the
some members of particular religious organizations are being marginalized in
the Job as it relates to their day of Worship.
People who
worship on Saturday are finding it increasingly difficult to get Jobs because
they do not work on Saturday since it is regarded as their Sabbath.
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The
entrenched religious liberty law gives individual the right to choose their
belief and their day of worship. The day
a person worships should not cause him to be excluded from the job force.
Employers should endeavor to work with the employees and where
possible make such arrangement so that the workers get the opportunity to have a day free to worship
how and when is their choice
Essential Services
There are services that
are regarded as essential services the chief are the ones related to preserving
life and property. If one works in these department they cannot take part in industrial actions and if they do, they are
liable to be put before the court or
industrial tribunal and be charged or
sentenced; some of these services are:
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Water
Electricity
Telephone
Police
Arm forces
Security
Fire fighting
Air traffic
Boarding educational institution
There are religions such as the Seventh Day Adventist faith who know
that by law the above are
essential services but would prefer that
their members are asked to work only in
the life saving and emergencies areas
such as hospital , institutional boarding, and in some
cases security.
In this light institutions government or
private sector who are able to make arrangement for such workers to work
their 40 Hours work week without major
disruption to these services are asked to accommodate the aboue preferences. Those
who are able to so but refuse may be putting themselves at the risk of facing some
legal repercussions relating to the
religious liberty law.
Duty of the Employee
It also rest with the worker to be truthful to the employer
when interviewed for the job. Always be willing to accept a compromise such as working longer hours, coming in
earlier or staying late. You may have to do the less desirable shift. You may have
to do shift exchange with other workers . As a marginalized worker if you do get the job
your work should be exemplary .You must be honest and do not steal your employer’s time subtly, such as spending over the allotted time for
lunch, spending unnecessary time for
toiletries and gossiping. You must be the worker whom your employer cannot
afford to lose, be very good at what you do.
Flexi Week.
This is a work
arrangement where workers are given the opportunity to work forty hours each week
at different hours, different days and
different places.
The advantages are:
It does not have to be from Monday
to Friday. It can be so arranged to cover less days , more days,
working from home and all types of creative 40 hours work week arrangement.
This should be good for the workers who worship on Saturdays since the working schedule could bypass
Saturday.
Some individuals may be able to do two or three jobs with ease. Financially and
economically it has its positives.
The disadvantages are: It could also work against workers as some employers can be insensitive and
roster them to include the Sabbath their day of worship.
It has the potential to disrupt family structure and family arrangement and could impact the social
and educational stability of the family therefore impact the nation on a whole
Help for the
Marginalized Sabbath Keeper.
The Seventh Day Adventist Church does put in place help for its members. In each church there is a
Religious Liberty Coordinator to whom member can voice their concern in relationship to their religious rights. This
problem is then documented . It is then taken
up with the employer or may be sent to the local Conference pastor or president in charge of Religious Liberty Rights and
may be sent to Genera conference,or may be taken to the industrial tribunal and may be
taken to court . This would entail the use of a lawyer.
Taking Up the
Challenge
As Seventh
Adventist members individuals could change
the religious landscape in Jamaica and
help other brothers and sisters who face difficulty within the work place
especially when it comes to getting the right to be free to worship on the day one chooses
.
You can make the difference. Send your concerns. send your real
experience, send documented evidence, send facts of being marginalized at
least 1000 cases strong from Jamaica can make the difference
The challenge must be taken up by the Seventh Day Adventist
lawyers young or old.Stand Up For Religious Liberty in Jamaica
Need to get more information of how you can you can help.
Call: Tel 1 876- 571-7059
Contributing Author
Juliet Christie Murray
