KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The Ministry of Labour and Social Security continues to champion productivity as a means of driving economic growth.

State Minister Zavia Mayne said labour productivity or output must be improved by each worker in order to realise progress in advancing the country’s standard of living in the short- to long-term.

He argued that by improving labour output, jurisdictions such as China, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea, have been able to grow their gross domestic product (GDP) at an average of more than six per cent per annum over the past seven decades.

Mayne was addressing the opening of a Productivity Forum on Thursday, at The Knutsford Court Hotel, New Kingston.

He said that in order to enhance productivity, wastage in homes and workplaces must be eliminated; skill levels must be continually increased; managerial capacity and effectiveness improved; and the amount of capital per worker must also increase.

Mayne further noted that more information and communications technology (ICT) will need to be applied in industries, as well as innovation in production processes.

The Productivity Forum, hosted by the Jamaica Productivity Centre (JPC) under the theme ‘Ramping up Productivity through Innovation’, was held as part of National Workers’ Week activities and to mark the 80th Anniversary of the 1938 labour protests and establishment of the Labour Department.

The event brought together stakeholders from government and the private sector to share information on how implementation of specific innovations has boosted the productivity levels in their firms and organisations.

It included a panel discussion on the application of innovation as a productivity driver.