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Director of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Portia Magnus.

NIS Contributors Urged to Check Records Regularly

Contributors to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) are being encouraged to consistently check on their contribution records to ensure that employers are remitting the contributions. Speaking in an interview with JIS News, Director of the NIS, Ministry of Labour and...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., speaks during a Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities Town Hall Meeting at Colonel Cove in St. Thomas on June 23.

Persons With Disabilities Encouraged to Register With the JCPD

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., speaks in the House of Representatives on June 23.

Minimum Wage Moves to $17,000, Up from $16,000

Executive Director of the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), Dr. Christine Hendricks, is encouraging residents from communities in St. Thomas to come out to the Council’s Townhall being held Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at Colonel's Cove in Morant Bay, St. Thomas, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

JCPD Targets Underserved Communities in St Thomas with June 23 Townhall

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., delivers the keynote address at the World Productivity Day Forum 2026, held at the AC Marriott Hotel in Kingston on Friday (June 19). The event was hosted by the Jamaica Productivity Centre (JPC), an agency of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, under the theme, ‘Resilience: Built by People, Powered by Process, Focused on Productivity’.

Labour Minister Outlines Significance of Productivity in Country’s Future

State Minister in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Donovan Williams, displays the ‘Red Card to Child Labour’ during the Ministry’s recent World Day Against Child Labour Jingle Competition Awards Ceremony at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.

2 weeks ago LabourSocial SecurityYouth

State Minister Urges Collective Action to Guard Against Child Labour in Jamaica

Safeguarding Jamaica’s children from exploitation, particularly child labour, requires the active involvement of citizens, families, employers, and communities, says State Minister in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Donovan Williams. Speaking during the Ministry’s recent World Day Against Child Labour Jingle Competition Awards Ceremony at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston, Mr. Williams underscored that public vigilance...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (centre), speaks with Acting Chairman of Community-Based Rehabilitation Jamaica (CBRJ), Conrad Wright (right), and Project Manager, CBRJ, Sandrea Long White, at the Good Samaritan 5K Run Walk media launch held recently at the CBRJ

2 weeks ago CommunityLabourSocial Security

Good Samaritans 5K Run/Walk to Aid Children with Special Needs

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. is appealing to members of the public to support the Good Samaritan 5K Run/Walk, geared at raising funds to procure a bus to support children with special needs. The bus, valued at over $6 million, will be used to transport Community-Based Rehabilitation Jamaica (CBRJ) staff as they visit various communities...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., shares a photo opportunity with Undersecretary, Multilateral Affairs Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Ambassador Shorna-Kay M. Richards, in the Market Place of the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference. The conference, being held June 14 to18 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James, has brought together Jamaicans across the diaspora under the theme ‘Diaspora Partnerships: Rebuilding a More Resilient Jamaica

2 weeks ago Hurricane Relief & RecoveryLabourSocial Security

Labour and Social Security Minister Thanks Diaspora for Post-Hurricane Recovery Support

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., has lauded the Jamaican Diaspora for its vital role in supporting the nation’s recovery following the passage of Hurricane Melissa. The Category Five hurricane made landfall on October 28, 2025, inflicting widespread damage across the western end of the island. Mr. Charles, whose Ministry chairs the Humanitarian Assistance Committee (HAC),...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (background, fourth left); Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dione Jennings (background left) and State Minister, Hon. Donovan Williams (background, third right) are joined by students and teacher at Boundbrook Primary School in Portland, in raising signs against child labour. Occasion was the Ministry’s World Day Against Child Labour Jingle Competition awards ceremony at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston on Friday (June 12).

2 weeks ago LabourSocial SecurityYouth

Jamaicans Urged to Be Vigilant Against Child Labour

Labour and Social Security Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., is calling on Jamaicans to be vigilant against child labour in their communities and report suspected cases of exploitation. “You have persons moving from parish to parish that are exploited, trafficked, sent to people who they don’t know to do things that they shouldn’t be doing…it’s right here, sometimes right in...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., provides a detailed breakdown of the Ministry’s over $10 billion expenditure on Hurricane Melissa relief initiatives, during Wednesday’s (June 10) Post Cabinet Press Briefing at Jamaica House.

3 weeks ago LabourSocial Security

Labour and Social Security Ministry Spends Over $10 Billion on Hurricane Melissa Relief Efforts

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has, so far, expended more than $10 billion in targeted Hurricane Melissa relief initiatives, marking one of the largest social protection and disaster recovery interventions in the Ministry’s history. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., provided the update during a Post Cabinet Press Briefing, held on Wednesday (June 10) at Jamaica House. To...

Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., announces the launch of the Humanitarian Assistance Relief Platform (HARP) pilot during Wednesday’s (June 10) Post-Cabinet Press Briefing at Jamaica House.

3 weeks ago LabourSocial Security

Humanitarian Assistance Relief Platform Launched to Streamline ROOFS Phase Two

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has launched the Humanitarian Assistance Relief Platform (HARP), a digital tool developed to streamline phase two of the Restoration of Owner or Occupant Family Shelters (ROOFS) Programme. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., announced the commencement of the platform’s pilot phase during Wednesday’s (June 10) Post-Cabinet Press Briefing held at Jamaica House. He...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Donovan Williams (second right, seated) and, (from left, seated) Supervisor at Gebbers Farms in the United States, Eyon Gayle; Director of the Overseas Employment Services Centre, Delroy Palmer; and Wycliffe Martin High School Principal, Evorine Henry-Tracey are photographed with agricultural students from high schools across St. Mary and workers of Gebbers Farms. The occasion was the presentation of $600,000 in academic grant support by the workers for the students on June 5 at Wycliffe Martin High School in St. Mary.

3 weeks ago AgricultureEducationLabourSocial Security

Agricultural Students in St. Mary Awarded Academic Grants from US-Based Jamaican Farm Workers

Twenty students pursuing agricultural studies across 10 high schools in St. Mary have each been awarded academic grants of $30,000 by Jamaican workers employed at Gebbers Farm in the United States of America (USA). The grants were presented on June 5, during a ceremony held at Wycliffe Martin High School in the parish. Minister of State in the Ministry of...