MONTEGO BAY, St James — Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Homer Davis has put contractors and workers on notice that he wants no discord that may delay work being done on two schools in his St James Southern constituency.

“The work must be carried out in a harmonious atmosphere where there is no disruption on the work site; and the rights of the workers must be respected,” he said.

“I’ve seen it happen over and over again and it put a bad taste in these workers’ mouth. When people work they must be paid!” Davis declared.

He was speaking on Thursday during a ground-breaking and handover ceremony at Lethe Primary and Infant School. Davis made it clear that he was not casting aspersions on the contractor for the project. In fact, he told those gathered that the contractor, Odel Allen, has had a very good track record in paying workers. Davis stressed, however, that he would nevertheless be keeping an eye on how things progress.

“I am putting the contractor here on notice that I will be paying full attention during the construction phase,” he warned.

With funding provided by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), there will be rehabilitative work done on the sanitation block at the school. The $12.5-million project will see work done on the bathrooms and the roof, along with the construction of stands for water tanks.

During the ceremony it was also announced that a Safe Passage project will be implemented at Bickersteth Primary and Infant School. Ground was later broken for that $20-million project which will include construction of a sidewalk, guard rail, bus sheds, and installation of traffic signs. Both projects are being done under the Integrated Community Development Project 2, which is being funded by the Government.

“It is my hope that this project will be completed on time and within budget because one thing I know about JSIF, them nuh listen to no ‘overrun’ business,” said Davis.