Oct 2008 Financial News

Some GraceKennedy employees don't work on Fridays

Oct 20, 2008

THESE days, some workers employed to Grace Food Processors simply don't go to work on Fridays. That's not because they are 'playing hooky', but because their boss has given them Fridays off as part of a bold thrust to implement a flex workweek.

Grace Food Processors, located at Twickenham Park in St Catherine, is one of two GraceKennedy factories across the island to have implemented a four-day workweek.

The blue-chip, multi-national food and service company operates four food-processing factories in Jamaica.If you were to call any of the two locations on a Friday, chances are that your call would be routed to the guardhouses at the factories. A pre-recorded message promptly states: "You have reached the offices of Grace Food Processors. Our working hours are Mondays to Thursdays."

According to CEO Douglas Orane, whose company racked up more than $48 billion in revenues for 2007 - an increase of 35.1 per cent over 2006 - the GraceKennedy strategy was born out of a need to increase productivity and maximise employee satisfaction at the factories.

"It cuts down on transportation costs for workers, and also cuts the cost of machinery start-up," Orane told the Observer. "The shock of the increasing oil prices is a signal to us to change our lifestyles. and we have decided to look at procedures at GraceKennedy," Orane added.

The GraceKennedy adjustment now allows employees of the two factories to work 10 hours per day instead of the traditional eight-hour workday. "Workers still have a 40-hour week," said Orane.

"Our people love it because they now have a three-day weekend,"Orane added.

The GraceKennedy boss said that his company was also investigating the possibility of an out-of-office work time for employees with intellectual responsibilities."We are also exploring the possibilities of off-site workers where employment can be home-based,"he said.

"That can only be done where there is intellectual responsibilities - people who can work from a laptop and do not have to be physically here," Orane said.

The implementation of flextime work and a staggered workweek has been mooted for many years and, according to Leroy Brown, acting CEO of the Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF), the GraceKennedy plan was a welcome innovation.

"We have advocated flextime for a long time," Brown said, adding that in the current environment of high energy and fuel costs the implementation could be advantageous to Jamaica.

He argued that more widespread use of flexible work time, or a shorter workweek would greatly reduce road congestion and, subsequently, fuel consumption.

But Brown was uncertain about the general acceptance of reduced work days or flextime by members of the Federation. "We know there are members that are trying it and they will feed the information to us," he said, but could not cite any specific company. He noted, however, that the Federation encouraged employers to consider using the systems. "It is an individual decision," he said, adding that the trade unions were also talking to people about the issue.

Trade unionist Vincent Morrison, president of the National Workers Union (NWU), said that while he was not aware of any company represented by his union having flextime or a reduced workweek, he, however, felt that the methods had a role in the workplace, depending on the nature of the business.

"Some firms do not need it," Morrison said. Morrison argued that flextime or reduced workdays should not be legislated, but instead implemented "as the work progressed".

"It depends on the circumstances that exists at a particular place in time," said Morrison. "What we encourage is continued discussion between management, delegates and workers."

He added that as far as he knew, GraceKennedy subsidiaries were not unionised. The NWU head also contended that a downturn in the economy could dictate the need for flextime schedule or a shorter workweek. "I hope we do not reach the point where we have to operate on three- or four-day week," he said.

Morrison argued that factory equipment should ideally be used on double or triple shifts to maximise production capacities and work shifts should be removed only when demand for a product falls.

"It is better to maximise equipment capacity," said Morrison. "Economy and demand are key factors, but every case would have its own unique position. You'll have to be flexible," he added.

GraceKennedy, which started 86 years ago in Jamaica as a trading outfit, has blossomed into a network with some 60 subsidiaries and associated companies located across the Caribbean, North and Central America and the United Kingdom. The company's portfolio now spans food processing and distribution, financial, insurance, remittance and hardware retailing industries.


Source:
Patrick Foster
The Jamaica Observer
Monday October 20, 2008
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20081019T2200000500_141525_OBS_SOME_GRACEKENNEDY_EMPLOYEES_DON_T_WORK_ON_FRIDAYS_.asp