Joey Issa Amused at Sir Richard’s Photo bomb of Employee Napping on the Job

A colleague of Sir Richard Branson Joe Issa, whose Cool Group business model has been likened to Sir Richard’s Virgin Group, was humoured by a photo of Branson posing with an employee sleeping on the job.

“This is funny! I was so amused when I saw the photo; it’s a great sense of humour displayed by Sir Richard, and the poor employee didn’t have a clue of what was going on as Sir Richard took pleasure in photo-bombing his sleep, much to the amusement of the air hostess in the background,” Issa recalls.

Issa, who has entertained Sir Richard, among a long list of celebrities, says “the best part of the joke is when Sir Richard woke him up, and when he looked and saw him, thought he was dreaming and went right back to sleep. I would like to see a video of that part,” says Issa, who is a mentor at the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship – the Caribbean based in Montego Bay.

According to a Yahoo article, “It is never a good time to be caught napping by your boss – especially when that boss is the head of the entire company, which is just what happened to an unfortunate Virgin Australia worker who decided to take a nap on the job.

Joseph Issa Founder Cool Group of Companies

                      Richard Branson photobombs his employee sleeping on the job.

However, Branson is said to have seen the funny side and rather than shouting decided instead to grab a photo with him, much to the amusement of Flight attendants in the background.

“I popped into the office and the airport to say hello and check in to see what the teams are up to. This guy was not up to much at all. I caught him sleeping on the job! Wow, did he get a shock when I woke him up? He must have thought he was dreaming because he went straight back to sleep,” Branson is said to have later written on the company blog, adding, “To be fair, he was on standby, getting some much-needed rest. At least he was not asleep on the plane – that might have been less amusing.”

Joseph Issa – Former Chamber President Expresses Concern Over Rising Unemployment In The Caribbean.

Former President of the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce Joe Issa has expressed concern over reports pointing to an increase in unemployment in the Caribbean.

Issa, who has often spoken on issues affecting the Caribbean, including climate change, said: “this is bad news; as a region we should be growing our economies to increase employment for our young people and alleviate poverty, not making things worse for them.”

Issa was reacting to a new UN report which says unemployment continues to rise in the Caribbean.

According to a CMC report out of Santiago, Chile, carried by the Jamaica Observer, “two United Nations agencies say that urban unemployment will keep rising in Latin America and the Caribbean and could reach 9.4 percent in 2017.”

In releasing the newest edition of their joint publication, “Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean,” the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), said “low economic growth experienced by regional countries in the last few years will continue affecting the region’s labour market performance this year.”

According to the latest estimates, the rate of regional urban unemployment could reach 9.4 percent on average this year, which represents a 0.5 percentage point increase from the 8.9 percent recorded in 2016, the report said.

The report is said to sum up “labour dynamics in the region during the first half of this year and analyses the characteristics of the transition made by young people – one of the groups most affected by the labour deterioration – from the educational system to the labour market.”

According to both United Nations organisations, “during the first half of 2017, two trends were observed: While the deterioration of some labour indicators – such as the employment and unemployment rates – persisted, a slower pace of decline was noted, which could point to ‘a light at the end of the tunnel’.

“The figures released in the report show a 0.3 percentage point decline in the rate of urban employment – the proportion of the working-age population that is employed – and a 0.9-point increase in the rate of urban unemployment between the first half of 2016 and the same period of 2017.”

The article quoted the report adding that “as in previous years, the regional trend is particularly influenced by the weak performance of Brazil’s labour market, although after several years of contraction, a very slight economic growth upturn is forecast for that country in 2017 and its employment indicators are starting to stabilise.”

In other countries of the region, the study indicates that labour market performance has been more favourable, especially in Central America.

ECLAC and the ILO said that weakness in the region’s labour markets is also reflected in the quality of employment.

It said “in six of the eight countries with available information, the report states that the creation of self-employment was more dynamic than the creation of salaried jobs during the first half of 2017.

“About young people, the report says that this group “generally faces structural problems to insertion in productive employment and decent work.”

“Young people’s paths into the labour market in the region are found to be generally much longer than in the developed countries, something that is heavily shaped by the role of women, often still centred on caregiving and household activities,” Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s executive secretary, and José Manuel Salazar, the ILO’s regional director, is said to have written in the publication.

Joseph Issa Former LSE Student Likes PIOJ’s Proposal for NMW

A former student of the London School of Economics (LSE) Joe Issa supports a proposal by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), recommending a seven percent increase in the national minimum wage (NMW).

“I think it is essential for workers to be paid a fair minimum wage for a fair day’s work, as a safety net to prevent their exploitation.

“I also believe that in addition to being paid a fair minimum wage, they must be paid a decent salary, one that will meet their basic household needs such as food and shelter and allow them to live in dignity.

 

Joseph “Joey” Issa

 

“Having determined what that fair and decent minimum wage should be, to prevent exploitation and allow for a decent living, it must then be protected from the ravages of inflation, so that their purchasing power and living standard is maintained over time.

“And even as I urge employers to pay more depending on the economic value of particular labour, I am mindful of the importance of not pressuring those who themselves are workers on a fixed income and without the benefit of yearly increases.

“Therefore, I support the recommendation by the PIOJ, of a seven percent increase in the current minimum wage,” said Issa, founder of the Cool Group of companies, in an interview.

According to a Jamaica Observer article, the PIOJ recently proposed a seven percent increase in the NMW to the Advisory Commission at its final consultations on a new NMW at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS). This increase would move payment for a 40-hour work-week by approximately $434.

It quoted manager of PIOJ’s Human and Community Development Unit Steven Kerr, telling the Commission that “this would meet the NMW’s target of increasing the purchasing power of exceptionally low-income workers, allow for a reasonable degree of security and enable him/her to live with some amount of dignity”.

“The PIOJ’s position was not far off from that of several other contributors to the consultations, who felt that employers of household workers, for example, should be protected from a much higher increase for their employees considering that their salaries were subject to restraint, and suggested a new NMW of $7,500 per 40-hour week.

“Others, including the Tambourine Army and We Change Jamaica, recommended new calculations, including a guaranteed minimum income, as well as segregated NMW increases for industrial and commercial workers, security guards and household workers.

“The major trade unions present – the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and the Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees – focused mainly on the wages of private security guards, calling for the reintroduction of a tripartite joint industrial council made up of representatives of the trade unions, the security companies and the MLSS.

“Head of the security guards’ employers, the Jamaica Society for Industrial Security, Commander George Overton, suggested a six percent across-the-board increase. However, he rejected proposals for improvements in insurance coverage.

“But the contribution from the PIOJ, which has always been the most influential on minimum wage commissioners, ranked as the most explosive at the sitting,” the paper reported.

Joseph Issa’s Employees Not Only Look Alike but Also Think Alike.

If you have worked with Joe Issa before, you will understand why he is referred to as the coolest employer anywhere in Jamaica; and it’s not just because of Joey, as he is affectionately called, is the person behind the Cool brand of products adorning the island for over two decades.

The main reason why the name Joey is synonymous with ‘Cool Employer’ is that he doesn’t leave his staff in mid-ocean, not without first teaching them how to swim, and when they do get to shore, they can expect to be credited and rewarded.

Also, if you’ve ever worked with Joey, you will appreciate why he is said to have the coolest staff on the island; and that’s not only because they have the best personality in the country.

Joey’s employees are also regarded as top-notch, and that’s because he does not only pick the personality but also brains.

If you are looking for the brightest minds available to work with, you will find them at Cool working to build the many brands he has founded starting with Cool Oasis in 1995.

But Cool Oasis was not Joey’s first opportunity to demonstrate how to put together a balanced team of workers that best serve the interest of the business, and also how to keep them and make them happy.

His methods of rewarding staff and helping them to progress are said to be unmatched and at the forefront of the smile on their faces, which is believed to make cool employees the most identifiable anywhere in Jamaica.

But a smile on a face is not the only attribute that gives Cool employees their identity.

The main reason why they are identifiable as a Cool Corporation employee is because they are wearing the cool brand uniform with pride. That’s what makes them smile.

Experts have long agreed that behind the smile of a worker is a contented employee and that the company uniform is as important as that of the school, police or army.

Wearing what has been described as the most recognizable uniform in Jamaica, Joey’s workers do not only look alike but also think alike.