In a move aimed at bringing group health benefits to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and contract workers spread across its membership, the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) has partnered with the Sagicor Group on a new insurance scheme which seeks to enhance the growth and financial well-being of players operating within the island’s productive sector.

Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Tuesday, the JMEA, which represents the interest of more than 570 members, welcomed the partnership on this comprehensive group scheme and the unlocking of some business development resources and its accompanying financial educational programmes, as the start of much needed initiatives tailored to meet the needs of the manufacturing and exporting sectors.

“For two years now we have been looking at this plan and it provided the most comprehensive value that we think our members can benefit from. It’s really for the underserved, as a lot of the larger companies already have group health plans for critical illness, etc, so this latest effort on our part is to plug a gap we’ve found where many of our SMEs are not providing coverage for their workers. Contract workers are also another set we’ve found among the wider group having access to little or no benefits and through this partnership we want to fix that. Through this scheme we’re therefore targeting these groups who currently don’t have health insurance and also those smaller companies that cannot get a group plan on their own,” said JMEA Executive Director Kamesha Blake, speaking with the Jamaica Observer ahead of the official signing.

With about 25 per cent of the JMEA’s membership said to be made up of SMEs, she said this amount, when added to the number of contract workers employed by larger companies, sees about 300 entities being targeted under the new scheme.

“Based on these estimates, we are therefore hoping that a good 20,000-30,000 workers from these groupings can be covered under the plan,” the executive director stated.

Pointing to international best practices which guide decent work standards, she said the latest move generally aims to push more companies into providing certain important benefits for workers. Having realised gaps in this area at country level and also within the JMEA’s membership, Blake said the scheme aims to bring thousands of workers employed by member companies under some protection.

“In manufacturing we have over 85,000 persons employed whether as factory floor workers all the way up to big executive positions, and so with this new scheme, we want to ensure that everybody can have access to health and other benefits. We want to encourage our employees to become financially stable and we’ve found that policies like these do help to enhance the work environment, as, when people have some amount of security, they’re often better able to focus on the job. We also hope that it will help to boost productivity, as, having access to things like a health policy, will allow workers in times of illness to seek the appropriate medical care so that they can be back on the job within a reasonable time,” Blake said.

In choosing to partner with Sagicor which it regards as a long-standing insurance provider for the sector, the new scheme, Blake said, is expected to offer health, life and other forms of coverage for JMEA members. Outlined in its areas of support are a range of SME client services to be made available through the resource centre of the financial conglomerate’s Sagicor Bank subsidiary. The Group, as part of the agreement, is also expected to deliver talks about financial fitness to the employees of JMEA members as it provides sponsorship for some of the entity’s flagship events, including its biennial Expo Jamaica tradeshow and annual manufacturers and exporters awards ceremony.

“Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited is deepening its commitment to Jamaica’s manufacturing and exporting sectors through this strategic partnership with the JMEA. This collaboration will provide critical financial solutions and business support to JMEA members, enhancing their growth and long-term sustainability,” Sagicor said.

The JMEA, in pushing to bring more solutions to the sector, will in the next few weeks through the hosting of its much anticipated Expo Jamaica tradeshow, set to take place April 3-6, further seek to bring increased opportunities for members.

“We have 363 booths to be filled — 98 per cent of which are already sold-out — and we are targeting over 700 buyers from across the world, 575 of which we’ve so far confirmed,” Blake told the Business Observer.

“Through other events including Manufacture 360, our usual factory tours and some more initiatives, the JMEA as a body continues to do our advocacy work,” she added.

The executive director, further commenting on the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s (PIOJ’s) estimated 3.2 per cent contraction of the manufacturing sector during the last quarter of 2024, said that steps are now being taken to increase output.

“Last year was a rough year for manufacturers as most operations faced disruption to supply chains and other logistics issues, from which some continue to suffer. Within the domestic market, we also continue to call on the banks and our financial partners to reduce the interest rate.

“Despite these and other challenges, as an important industry we continue to do our part in growing productivity and, as seen by the efforts of our agriculture partners who are replanting, we also hope to strengthen our agro-processing and export efforts this year,” Blake said.