Dear Editor,

Thursday’s editorial, ‘Careful not to generate unnecessary alarm over farm work programme’, is deeply concerning, not because it questions public statements, but because it does so without due regard for facts already established and previously published by your own newspaper.

The editorial asserts that the threat identified by the Minister of Labour and Social Security Pearnel Charles Jr was unclear or insufficiently explained. This is simply inaccurate.

The threat was clearly articulated in a prior Jamaica Observer article including reporting that outlined the misuse of the minister’s image and name, the circulation of fraudulent messages, and the growing pattern of impersonation and misinformation targeting the Overseas Employment Programme.

Notably, even the Press Club of this very newspaper had previously underscored the dangers such actions pose, not only to public trust, but to Jamaica’s international labour arrangements. Subsequently the Observer also published another article on Thursday, titled ‘Man arrested in $7-million overseas employment scam’.

To suggest that these actions amount to harmless “mischief” is to dangerously downplay a very real risk.

Let us be clear. Any activity that falsely represents the Government of Jamaica, its ministers, or its overseas recruitment processes jeopardises bilateral labour agreements, exposes vulnerable Jamaicans to exploitation, and threatens the integrity of programmes built on decades of trust with international partners. That is not alarmism — it is fact.

Equally troubling is the editorial’s implication that relevant data was unavailable or withheld. The numbers of farm workers deployed under the programme are readily available, verifiable, and routinely shared as requested. A simple request to the ministry would have provided this information. Responsible journalism requires not speculation, but basic due diligence before publication.

Public officials have a duty to warn citizens when programmes are being compromised. The minister did precisely that — measured, responsible, and in the public interest. To criticise that duty, while overlooking documented evidence already in the public domain, risks misleading readers and undermining confidence in one of Jamaica’s most successful overseas employment initiatives.

We urge the Observer to reflect carefully on the implications of its editorial stance and to uphold the same standards of accuracy and verification that it rightly demands of others.

The issue at hand was real.

The threat was known.

And the responsibility to inform the public truthfully is shared.

Rochelle Mitchell

Chief execution officer

Office of the minister

Ministry of Labour and Social Security