Labour Minister Urges Use of Official Channels for Overseas Employment

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., is again urging individuals seeking legitimate employment overseas to use official channels in order to protect themselves from fraudulent schemes and potential exploitation.

“It is very important, as we have a lot of scamming. You have many individuals that try to mimic the Ministry, and some of them even [post] my image and give persons the impression that we are recruiting through Tik Tok [and] Instagram,” he told JIS News.

Mr. Charles reaffirmed that there are no registration or placement fees associated with the Ministry’s Overseas Employment Programme, adding, “we [continue to remind] persons [that] there is no fee involved at any stage of the recruitment process”.

“Now, understand that you have the government programme, which is run by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. But you do have private entities, companies that do have a licence from the Ministry to [take] persons from Jamaica, overseas. But when it comes on to our agricultural programme, it is only the Ministry that has that authority,” he stated.

The Overseas Work Programme facilitates temporary, skilled employment for Jamaicans, primarily through Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme (SAWP), and the United States’ H-2A and H-2B visa schemes, which support the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, respectively.

“Once you have someone asking you to make a payment other than the visa fee, which would mean you have gone through all of the process and just have to pay for your visa, then you know you are dealing with someone who is not authorised by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security,” Mr. Charles said.

“All of those things are high alerts to you that you are about to get scammed, so you should call us. Thankfully, many Jamaicans have reached out to me on social media, some get my number… and they call and we talk to them, and some of them reach out to the Ministry. They ask us, they show us the images before they get involved, and we have been able to really divert them from those potential issues,” he added.

Mr. Charles noted, however, that despite these efforts, too many individuals remain vulnerable to exploitation.

“Because they want to access the programme so badly, they are easy to be manipulated by persons who can create perceptions that look very close to what the Ministry would be doing,” he stated.

“So this is an important opportunity for me to say to Jamaica… do not fall prey to these scammers. If you ever have any issue, reach out to us. But be advised, we don’t ask you to make any payment when it comes on to recruitment or placement. That’s not the Ministry’s process… . It will never be,” Mr. Charles underscored.

For more information on the overseas work programme, persons may visit the Ministry’s website at https://www.mlss.gov.jm/.