The sad part about this topic is many of them might not be returning. 166 Jamaicans left on Tuesday morning to join the program in Canada, while another 96 left in the afternoon for the United States where they will work in greenhouses and open farms.
According to the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Pearnel Charles, the departures represent his Ministry's commitment to provide employment for persons, despite the global economic challenges. Okay, how are you providing employment by shipping the people to another country.
I find it interesting that as Jamaica "Westernizes" (yes I am making that a word) itself that it is going away from the one thing that has expanded the country economically. That is farming. Years ago (we are talking decades) Jamaica's farmers were a strong staple in building the Jamaican economy. Now, as fast foods and technology takes over the island, the simple staples (yam, banana, coco, pimento..) are fast going away. The poor farmers have to raise the prices just to make ends meet in their own families.
Charles says, "It is projected that about 6,800 Jamaicans will be sent to Canadian on the program this year, which is 500 more than last year's 6,300, while the Ministry is trying to stick as close as possible to the 6,000 jobs provided in the United States program last year."
Source: Caribbean Net
1 comment:
The exportation of cheap labour to metropolitan societies --- Canada and the United States --- with the expectation that the Jamaican goveernment will recoup remittance in the form of foreign exchange earnings from such workers.Also,it eases the domestic unemployiment problem and act as a safety valve on the intense social pressures building up in certain communities, because of the ever increasing size of the large reserve army of unemployed, which Jamaica is unable to absorb productively.
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