WESTERN BUREAU – Minister of Labour and Social Security Horace Dalley is reporting an increase of $84.564 million in savings through direct remittances from the United States overseas work programme for 2004.

At the same time, the minister was optimistic that the programme would expand further, based on the figures to date.

So far this year, hotel workers had saved $64.7 million more and farmers $19.8 million.

The remittances, representing 16 per cent of individual pay, are deducted compulsorily from the salaries of workers in the overseas programme, and banked in Jamaica until the participants end their tour.

But there is concern within the labour ministry that the savings programme is under threat, based on what Dalley described as the manoeuverings of US legal interests to discourage workers from the region from acceding to the deductions.

It has forced the ministry to examine the terms of the scheme to ascertain the ministry’s legal standing, in a bid to ensure continued worker compliance.

“Imagine pulling this out of the Jamaican economy, pulling this out of the various communities all around Jamaica, and you can further extend your imagination to the other Caribbean countries who have workers on the programme,”

Dalley argued, having outlined the growing figures and the safety net it affords the overseas workers.

“Last year, difficulties notwithstanding, we stepped things up a notch or two over 2003,” said Dalley, speaking Wednesday at a joint meeting of the Regional Labour Board and the US employers in Montego Bay.

The saving of US hotel workers amounted to US$7.562 million ($445.3 million) during the period January to December 2003.

In 2004, the comparative figures were US$8.334 million ($510 million).

The farms programme savings from January to December 2003 amounted to US$4.241 million ($250.8 million); and US$4.341 ($270.6 million) in 2004.

The minister made note of the loss to the local economy, in jobs and remittance earnings, if the programme were discontinued.

“We are examining now the worker signing the agreement in Jamaica to go to work in the United States and Canada,” said the minister.

“The fact is the job that the worker goes to was not found by the worker – the Ministry of Labour found that job for him or for her. And there are terms and conditions that we have been putting and the conditions and terms have been light and we have been examining it.”

The US workers, he said, are being advised that US law does not require the deductions, that any such scheme would have to be voluntary, leading to a refusal by some workers to have the compulsory deductions made.

But, said Dalley: “We in Jamaica, in the Ministry of Labour, are insisting that for every worker that leaves under our banner we are going to take the savings from their salary.”

“It is in the bank for the worker. They come back and they get it without difficulty,” said Dalley.

The minister, said in response to Observer queries on the implications for the programme in light of US immigration reform, that he would speak to the issue publicly in a matter of weeks.

“A whole debate is taking place in the United States about immigration reform. We can’t say anything now but maybe in another 15 days something will be in Congress. When that happens I will call the press together and say what is the exact implication for Jamaica.”

But, US employer representative John Young was not perturbed by the debate in his home country, stating optimistically that US president George W Bush, a proponent of immigrant rights, would outline a plan favouring the overseas programme.

“We need temporary workers and we are going to need them more and more in the future. We got a population that is getting older and we don’t have enough people to fill those jobs,” said Young.

“We have a programme here that has got accountability so if we can just stem the tide until the new plan for workers comes into place, I think there is a great opportunity for workers out of the Caribbean.”

Young noted that it was much easier to import Caribbean workers who have easier access to visas.

“We can get visas out of here a lot quicker than they can be obtained in other parts of the world, be it England, Mexico, South Africa or Africa. We have a good cooperation with the embassy here and we can turn visas around here a lot quicker than they can anywhere else.”

– hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com