Musicians’ union demanding change

The Jamaica Federation of Musicians and Affiliated Unions (JFMAU) is in house-structuring and recruitment mode, and will be hosting its first Kingston meeting for the year on July 28 at the Springvale Avenue headquarters of the Fab 5 band.

"We have a lot of organisations in the industry but we are not getting any results," Lowell Lawson, JFMAU president, told THE STAR. "This meeting will be about getting the music industry structured and planning the way forward. We already had meetings in Negril and Montego Bay, and after Kingston, we will perhaps go to Ocho Rios and across the entire island."

Lawson shared that the top three items on the agenda are an insurance policy for members of the fraternity, compliance with the new rules and regulations, and empowerment for members. He noted that some companies/employers were "used to a broken system" and were therefore resisting the new structure that has been put in place to protect the rights of creatives.

"For example, we now have a standard rate sheet as it regards payment for work done by musicians and creatives, and we have drawn up a standardised union contract. However, some employers ... not all ... are still preying on the ignorance of the some of the practitioners. They will use devious means to underpay workers and circumvent using our contract and we are not going to tolerate this. We aim to ensure that our members have the knowledge and know their rights and implement them," Lawson said.

He noted that the first two meetings were fruitful and that "persons are getting the message that the JFMAU is back". However, he had a word for those who continue to sit on the sidelines and criticise the union.

"One of our goals is for entertainers to understand that they have to help us to help them. For too long they have been too comfortable to bash the union ... but it belongs to all of us. My appeal to them is to come and join us and help us to benefit from their knowledge. This is a movement for all of us and together we can make it stronger," Lawson said.

He issued an open invitation for the entire entertainment fraternity to attend the July 28 meeting, which will also have a fish fry and jam session component.