Samuda off to tour US farms where J’cans work
KINGSTON, Jamaica— Minister of Labour & Social Security, Karl Samuda, is set to tour the farms in the United States where Jamaican farm workers are employed.
According to a statement from the ministry, Samuda left the island earlier today.
The ministry said Samuda will use the visit to meet with current and prospective employers to promote the Overseas Employment Programme, as he “seeks to strengthen the existing relationships and create new opportunities for expansion and improvement of the programme.”
Samuda is also scheduled to meet with officials from the US Government.
The last ministerial visit of this nature was in August 2018.
The ministry said that despite the setbacks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 4,500 workers travelled on the programme to the United States in 2020.
Since January this year, 2,928 Jamaican farm workers have left the island for temporary employment on farms in the United States.
Samuda is scheduled to return to the island on July 17.
