KINGSTON, Jamaica — A prominent union leader has criticised the Government for its handling of hotel worker concerns, particularly calling out the Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett and his strategist, Delano Seiveright, for going into hotels to settle complaints which he says is not their job.

Speaking with Observer Online, President of the Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE), Vincent Morrison, expressed disappointment over what he considers to be an ongoing practice of inappropriate intervention by government officials.

“I think it’s a shame for my friend, the honourable minister, and his strategist, Mr Delano Seiveright, to be going into hotels to try and settle concerns and complaints of workers. That is not their role,” he said.

Noting that unions have tried for years to get into the tourism industry, Morrison said their efforts have been thwarted by higher authorities, particularly those in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

“And I want to be very clear, I have a whole lot of respect for the technical people, the civil servants who work in the conciliatory service of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security — whole lot of respect. You have some very genuine, conscientious, hard workers, smart workers, too, who work there but I’ll tell you something, they have to take instructions because they have a job,” he explained.

According to the union leader, these ongoing issues within the hotel industry — including workers walking off the job — are damaging to the sector, and immediate action is needed.

He is therefore calling on the government to take steps toward resolving these disputes by establishing a joint industrial council for the tourism industry no later than January 2025.

“I think the government should immediately consult with the hotel industry, the sector, the trade unions, in setting up a joint industrial council for the sector. I think this is an emergency. And it should be done before but not later than the end of January 2025,” Morrison said.