House to Debate Bill For Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme

The Bill for the Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme has been tabled in the House of Representatives, and will be debated soon.

At a post-Sectoral Debate press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister on Wednesday (May 1), Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, said the Bill will benefit all who work in the tourism industry, including those who are on the brink of retirement within the next five years.

Mr. Bartlett said $1 billion has already been set aside to assist people who are now registered within the five-year period for retirement who will not meet some requirements for the scheme.

“These people will get the same minimum pension that somebody who had been paying for 25 years or 30 years would get, and that’s another unique feature of this plan,” he said.

Mr. Bartlett said the Tourism Workers’ Pension Scheme is in keeping with the Government’s focus on creating a social security network within the tourism sector. It is one component of a three-point human capital development plan for industry workers, which also includes training and capacity building.

“That plan is not just a first for Jamaica or the Caribbean, but a first in the world because no other country in the world has a comprehensive pension plan for the sector. Companies may have plans, hotel brands have plans, but no plan exists anywhere in the world for anybody and everybody who is engaged in tourism activities,” he said.

Mr. Bartlett said some of the persons who will benefit include rafters, craft traders, taxi drivers, spa operators, bus drivers, housekeepers and groundsmen who are not directly employed in tourism, and are self-employed in some cases.

“All of you will have an opportunity to have a pension, and this pension plan will cover everyone from 18 to 59 years of age,” he said.

The Minister also informed that the new pension plan for tourism will also benefit entrepreneurs who operate in the industry.