Prime Minister Joins Volunteers on National Labour Day Project

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, joined hands with volunteers in Gregory Park and Washington Mews in Portmore who took part in activities for the National Labour Day project in the communities.

Accompanied by Minister of Health, Dr. the Hon. Hon. Christopher Tufton; Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie; and Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange,  the Prime Minister  visited the areas where mosquito breeding sites were being cleared.

At a ceremony at the Gregory Park Basic School, the Prime Minister said he was encouraged by the large turnout of volunteers and noted that it was an indication of success for the national project.

“When we celebrate Labour Day, we reflect on the struggles of the workers that brought us here, but we also use it as a time of renewal for further and future development in our country,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the observance brings into focus the value of work. In addition to being necessary for earning, he noted that persons must also work to give back, for volunteerism, for learning or apprenticeship and for health. “We work to make a better future for our children,” he said.

Groups from the Ministry of Health, as well as the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), among others, were involved in the project.

Minister Grange, in her remarks, hailed the support from the various ministries to put on the project. She further announced that a total of 800 Labour Day projects were registered islandwide.

In addition to the cleaning and bushing of gullies and drains, teams from the Health Ministry distributed flyers and visited families to discuss the vector-borne diseases, such as Dengue, Chikungunya and the Zika Virus, and ways to eradicate mosquito breeding sites. Persons were also urged to put out old appliances and other debris, which would be hauled away by the NSWMA.

The Gregory Park basic school received cleaning, bushing and painting, as well as landscaping.

Labour Day concludes activities for National Workers’ Week, observed under the theme: ‘For Health’s Sake…Keep It Clean’, and which focused on the concept of linking healthy outcomes to a clean environment.

National Workers’ Week and Labour Day activities were coordinated through a Labour Day Secretariat which falls under the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, and had administrative, promotional and operational responsibilities.