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J$250 Million to Start Tourism Workers’ Pension Fund in January, says Bartlett

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Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says J$250 million will be used to ensure the start of the highly anticipated Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme next month. This forms part of the government’s effort to seed the fund to meet the deadline of a January 2020 start date for the pension scheme.

Minister Bartlett, who made the announcement at a pension sensitization session with hotel workers at Royalton Negril today, said “We are well on our way to implementing the pension scheme and currently the Board of Trustees is in the process of procuring a Fund Manager and Fund Administrator.

As soon as the Fund Manager has been appointed, 250 million will be disbursed to seed the fund so that if workers have contributed for only 5years and reach their retirement age of 65 they will get a guaranteed minimum pension.”

The Ministry of Tourism has been carrying out pension sensitization sessions across the island to update tourism workers on the next steps of the pension scheme. Over 400 workers attended the session at the Royalton Hotel and approximately 100 workers attended the session at the RIU Hotel, both in Negril.

The Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme is designed to cover all workers ages 18-59 year in the tourism sector, whether permanent, contract or self-employed. This includes hotel workers as well as persons employed in other tourism subsectors such as craft vendors, tour operators, red cap porters, contract carriage operators and workers at attractions.

In highlighting the significance of the pension scheme, Minister Bartlett added that, “This landmark Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme is a carefully strategized arrangement that forms part of the Ministry’s overall human capital development strategy in the sector. The pension scheme is the final cap in that strategy to ensure a social security safety net for our workers at retirement.”

Registration for Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme is scheduled to begin in January 2020.

J$250 Million to Start Jamaica Tourism Workers’ Pension Fund in January, says Bartlett
A section of the over 400 workers at the Royalton Hotel in Negril during the pension sensitization session haled there today. The session forms part of Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett’s effort to update workers on the next stage of the Tourism Worker’s Pension Scheme which will be implemented next month.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Over 200 Jamaica hotel workers attend pension sensitization

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Two hundred and fifty (250) hotel workers from Iberostar Montego Bay, attended a pension sensitization session yesterday in Jamaica. The session, spearheaded by Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, was held as part of an island-wide effort to update workers on the next steps for the Tourism Workers Pension scheme.

“Today we had a very strong meeting, the first of a series of sensitization sessions we will undertake for registration for membership of the pension scheme.

We had a full house and we will continue this process island wide to make sure our workers understand the rudiments of the scheme and are prepared for the actual start of registration,” said Minister Bartlett.

The two hundred and fifty (250) workers in attendance provided their contact details as an expression of interest and will be notified once full registration begins in January.

“Elements to operationalize the scheme are well underway. The Request for Proposal for the Fund Manager is already out and bids are to come in by next week. The actuary is also being shortlisted and is expected to be appointed in short order,” Minister Bartlett added.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Mrs. Jennifer Griffith, encouraged the workers to join the scheme by “preparing yourself as it will endow to your own welfare in the long run.”

The Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme is designed to cover all workers ages 18-59 year in the tourism sector, whether permanent, contract or self-employed. This include hotel workers as well as persons employed in related industries such as craft vendors, tour operators, red cap porters, contract carriage operators and workers at attractions.

A section of the audience at the sensitization session held yesterday for Iberostar workers to update them on the next steps for the Tourism Workers Pension scheme, especially registration.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Professional classification coming for Jamaica tourism workers

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Jamaica’s drive towards professionalizing its tourism industry is moving towards classifying certified workers for the purpose of improved remuneration.

Through the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation, established by the Ministry of Tourism, 1300 workers have so far been certified as professionals in their respective disciplines. Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett says “the next move is to classify the workers.” This will see them being graded according to classification.

This was outlined by Minister Bartlett at a long service awards for 78 employees of the Round Hill Hotel and Villas last night. He said a lot of emphasis was being put on training as “We are building a professional institution as well as a professional industry.”

Mr. Bartlett said at the point of the workforce being classified and remunerated according to classification “We would now have a brand new labour market arrangement in tourism.” He explained that a new approach will have to be taken when employing certified professionals in the industry with regards to tenure of service. “It would be a brand new ball game to emerge in tourism,” he said, noting that unlike in former years, the industry had moved away from employing on a seasonal basis.

The tourism Minister said the underlying factor behind all that was being done, was to put people at the center because it was the people who made everything happen.

“You were the pioneers; you were the ones who caused Jamaica to be what it is today in terms of our tourism standing in the world and our stature as a major tourism destination,” he told the workers with records of service ranging from 10 to 45 years, at the 66-year-old hotel.

With the development of artificial intelligence (AI) globally and talk that the new tourism is going to be all about automation, Mr. Bartlett opined that while robotics could help to do better and make it easier and more efficient “they cannot replace the people of tourism because tourism is about people.” 

Regarding visitor arrivals, he reiterated that Jamaica was now having year-round tourism and with record numbers in succeeding years, arrivals should hit the 4-million mark this year. He said last month a historical 250,000 tourists came to Jamaica when in former years hotels, would have been closed and workers laid off.

He said tourism was now the number one industry in Jamaica, projecting to earn this year US$3.7 billion, leading in contribution to gross domestic product and “Today is the largest contributor to the economic growth of Jamaica.”

Minister Bartlett shared with the Round Hill workers that “For the first time in our history Jamaica is leading the world in terms of worker safety and security.” The Tourism Workers Pension Plan which is expected to be fully operational in early 2020, is a major contributor to that and “Sets an example to the entire world as to the type of social security and safety net that can be provided for the workers of this industry,” he expressed with pride.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Corporate Communications Division

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Tel: (876) 920-4926-30

Two Australian Heroes killed when saving a tourist from drowning

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Tourism and Dairy are popular in  Port Campbell, a coastal town in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Great Ocean Road, west of the Twelve Apostles, in the Shire of Corangamite and has less than 500 residents.

Two of these residents a father and son today drowned trying to rescue a tourist from rough on Sunday have been described as selfless members of the local community and “like peas in a pod”.

Ross, 71, and Andrew Powell, 32, were life-long members of the Port Campbell Surf Life Saving Club and were prominent figures in the local dairy farming industry.

They, along with one other lifesaver, were attempting to save a tourist at Sherbrook River, near the Twelve Apostles on Victoria’s south-west coast, on Sunday morning when their boat flipped.

The father and son were declared dead at the scene, while the third lifesaver was seriously injured and airlifted to The Alfred hospital.

Ross was an inaugural member of the lifesaving club when it was formed in 1965 and maintained it his whole life putting his community first.

A 30-year-old male tourist got into trouble wading near the entrance to the Sherbrook River, a 10-minute drive from the Twelve Apostles, about 11am.

Rough surf caused the rescue boat to flip, tossing the three lifesavers into the ocean in an area Cr Trotter said was notoriously dangerous.

An emergency helicopter managed to safe one of rescuers and the tourist out of the water, however, the father and son’s bodies were later found.

The surviving rescue worker, a man in his 50s, has injuries to his back and legs and was airlifted to The Alfred hospital in a serious condition. He remained in a serious but stable condition on Sunday evening.

The tourist who was swept into the water suffered hypothermia and was taken by road ambulance to the Warrnambool hospital in a stable condition.

 

A flipped rescue boat at Port Campbell on Sunday.

Mr James said initial investigations found all three lifesavers had been wearing life jackets.

Earlier reports suggested the tourist was taking photographs when he was swept off a rock at the mouth of the river, but emergency services say this was not the case.

Another rescue boat near Port Campbell.

The Port Campbell Hotel said on Facebook that live music at the venue had been canceled due to the “heartbreaking tragedy in our community”.

Police are preparing a report for the coroner

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