Gov’t Improving Access for The Vulnerable

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government has been working to improve access for the most vulnerable in society including the poor, elderly and the disabled. 

He cited increases in the age relief exemption for pensioners, which came into effect on April 1, and establishment of the Social Pension Programme for elderly persons who are not National Insurance Scheme (NIS) contributors. 

“The social pension [is] for those elderly persons 75 years and older. That is a major improvement in the quality of their life,” he noted. 

Mr. Holness was speaking at the 2024 National Labour Day Project at the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) downtown Kingston on Thursday (May 23), where activities focused on the building of a ramp to enhance access to the Institute’s cultural and heritage resources. 

Labour Day is being observed under the theme ‘Ramp up di access… Show that you care’, with an emphasis on persons with disabilities, the elderly and the vulnerable. 

“I totally identify, appreciate, and embrace this theme ‘ramp up the access’. Yes, our Government needs to do more in ensuring that all our people, particularly our poor, elderly and our vulnerable persons and persons with disabilities, have the ability to access a better quality of life,” he noted.  

The Prime Minister said that by using Labour Day to build ramps at facilities across the island, “we are paying it forward to the generation coming… our elderly, our persons with disabilities and our vulnerable, in honour of those labour leaders and workers who sacrificed during the labour movement of the 1930s”. 

“We do it symbolically at the Institute of Jamaica, the place where much of our history and heritage is protected,” he pointed out. 

The Prime Minister said that the struggles of the labour movement were not just about better pay and work conditions but also about the high level of unemployment that existed in the country at the time. 

Mr. Holness noted that Jamaica has come a far way in ensuring employment for the vast majority of its citizens who are willing and able to work.  

“That is why we have been so successful in our unemployment numbers. It is oftentimes dismissed and, by now, taken for granted that we are at 4.2 per cent in unemployment. Jamaica has never been in this position before,” the Prime Minister pointed out. 

He noted that the HEART NSTA/Trust is investing heavily in apprenticeship programmes, while also mentioning the Jamaica National Service Corps (JNSC) and other initiatives to enable young people to get involved in work.  

“Volunteerism is an important part of work, and that is what Labour Day is demonstrating in a tangible way today, and we, of course, work to earn and that is the essence of what the Government is trying to achieve. We want our productivity as a country to increase, by not just working harder, working longer hours but by working smarter [and] by being more strategic in the things that we do,” Mr. Holness said. 

Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding, in his address, welcomed the national project, noting that the IOJ is an institution of cultural preservation and part of the intellectual capital of Jamaica. 

“I commend the board and management of the Institute for the work they have been doing and I am very glad it has been selected as the focus of our attention today under the theme of accessibility for persons with disabilities,” Mr. Golding said. 

He recommended that the country dedicate a year to creating access to persons with disabilities by transforming buildings and structures across the island. 

Also speaking at the function were Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange; Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie; Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, Jr; Mayor of Kingston,