$3B for Tourism Housing, Pension and NSWMA

KINGSTON, JAMAICA; Wednesday, May 9, 2018: Tourism workers are on the brink of benefitting from housing and pension funded by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) to the tune of $2 billion. The TEF has also earmarked another $1 billion for the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).

Emphasising that housing as it related to tourism workers, “is key part of the concern for us in the Ministry,” Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett said a recent survey indicated that “over 88 percent of the workers in the industry cannot even access NHT housing solutions.”

In his Sectoral presentation to Parliament yesterday, Mr. Bartlett announced that “We have put $1 billion, over the next five years, to assist tourism workers to access housing solutions through the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ).”

TEF will make $170.7million available to support implementation of the first phase of the programme in this financial year.

The survey formed the basis of the development of a framework to support housing needs for tourism workers as a component of the Tourism Workers’ Welfare Programme. It also showed that while 94% of the workers contributed to the NHT, 85% did not own a home and would not be able to afford a house costing more than $2.5 million.

The discussion between TEF and the HAJ also included a number of other initiatives, such as developing parcels of land identified for housing for tourism workers and providing basic infrastructure for informal settlements in which a number of tourism workers reside.

Also, while seeking to ensure that workers in tourism have decent work, he said the Ministry of Tourism was also examining labour market arrangements aimed at ending the traditional seasonal arrangement “because the kind of volume that we are bringing in to Jamaica is not about seasonal employment, it’s 24/7 employment.”

Last year the industry brought in 4.3 million visitors and currently provided direct employment 122,500 workers.

In an update on the tourism workers’ pension scheme, Mr. Bartlett informed Parliament that it was on track. “I am pleased to say that the Chief Parliamentary Council (CPC) has now given us the draft so we are ready to come to Parliament with the Bill in the middle of the year and hopefully by October, we will have this revolutionary tourism pension plan for the people of this great industry,” he announced.

 A delay in the implementation of the pension scheme arose when it was determined that the Financial Services Commission (FSC) would have oversight but had no experience in giving oversight to a scheme driven by legislation. The FSC Act had to be amended to enable that happening.

 The pension scheme, which will be a compulsory contributory one, will cover all categories of tourism workers, with each beneficiary entitled to a pension of at least J$200,000 regardless of when they join.

 TEF is seeding the pension scheme with $1 billion over the first four years.

The other $1 billion will be going to the NSWMA to continue to carry its full programme of maintenance to keep the island clean.” Concurrently, ‘Spruce Up’ Jamaica will be spearheading the Ministry’s island wide communication message aimed at bringing awareness to all Jamaicans on the importance of tourism to the country.