Come June 1, the Government will increase its budgetary allocation to the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) by 30 per cent. This will benefit some 360,000 persons who are on the programme, says Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson. Making her contribution to the 2017/2018 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives, on April...

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), on Tuesday (April 11), distributed mosquito nets and lids for water storage containers to residents of West Kingston. The intervention, under the agency’s $3-million SUPER 18 Zik-V Project, aims to minimise exposure to the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is responsible for spreading diseases such as the chikungunya and Zika viruses and dengue fever. A...

Paper-based life certificates may soon become a thing of the past as the Accountant General’s Department (AGD) looks to implement biometrics as a means of identifying pensioners. Accountant General, Carlene Murdock, said the Department is actively working towards implementing this feature. “What this will mean … is that the old order of the life certificates as we know it will...

Domestic workers can claim for maternity leave allowance for a maximum period of eight weeks. Director of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), Portia Magnus, told JIS News in a recent interview that the provision, under the National Insurance Act of 1979, aims to ensure that these workers’ rights are protected. “This benefit is for persons employed as domestic workers, as...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says a new programme will be introduced in the 2017/18 financial year for persons opting for early retirement. “I think I should stress that this is a voluntary programme. We’re going to encourage persons to take it. It is not a compulsory programme,” he said, noting that the move represents an overall strategy...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Donovan Stanberry, has underscored the need for workers to prepare for retirement by making adequate pension arrangements. This, he said, is important, particularly in light of the increase in average life expectancy, with persons living as many as 25 years after retiring. “Planning for retirement... is something we have...

The Government is providing an increase of 47 per cent to the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), in a move to strengthen the country’s social safety net. This addition of $3.68 billion in the Budget for the 2017/18 financial year, brings to $11.47 billion the total provision for the programme, which targets some of the most vulnerable...