Front-Line Workers To Be Recognised

Front-line workers are to receive special recognition for their contribution to the country, particularly for their vital role in the local management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The disclosure was made by Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, during a JIS virtual ‘Think Tank’ recently.

“Our front-line workers – our nurses, our doctors, our police officers and so on… have been doing a tremendous job during this challenging period of the COVID-19 pandemic. And so, they will be recognised during this period and we will express strong appreciation for the work that they are doing,” Miss Grange said.

“The Minister of Health, Hon. Chris Tufton, has actually commissioned me to develop a special award for front-line workers. Once we have come out of the pandemic, this award will be announced and presented to our front-line workers, and so there will be a special recognition for them at a time to be so designated,” she added.

Miss Grange was speaking on the Ministerial collaborations for Workers Week 2021, which is being observed from May 16 to 24, under the theme ‘Safeguarding Our Labour Force amid COVID-19’.

Not to be forgotten, sanitation workers are included in the category for special recognition.

“Sanitation workers are front-line workers. The things that they have to clear away when we get rid of them place them in the front line of being exposed to all kinds of garbage. They, too, must be recognised as front-line workers and we must show appreciation to them. They play an important role in keeping our space clean. They play an important role in ensuring that the environment is clean and they must also be specially recognised,” added Minister Grange.

Workers Week 2021 is being commemorated through a series of virtual events organised through the collaboration of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and entities such as the Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Institute, the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions, among others.