By Dionne Rose, Staff ReporterBARRINGTON BAILEY, the senior director of Manpower Services in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, has come out in defence of the Overseas Employment Programme, declaring that the dependents of participants killed or disabled while on the programme are adequately covered.
Mr. Bailey was responding to news of the death last week of 39-year-old Raleigh Walters who died while working at Envirogreen Incorporated in St. Loius, Missouri, United States.
According to reports, Mr. Walters, who was employed as a groundsman, was crushed by a truck. "We (including the Minister) are going to visit with the family to work out the details. It is very unfortunate for someone to die in that manner. We are grieving with the family and we intend to hold their hands right through," Mr. Bailey said in an interview.
Asked about the level of coverage that is given to workers who go on the programme, Mr. Bailey disclosed that participants are usually provided for under two types of coverage.
COVERAGES
There is the in-house coverage that is administered by the Government Liaison Service, where participants are given medical health coverage of US$150,000. Also under this coverage, he said a participant's dependent is entitled to US$7,500 if he dies while on the programme. This is, however, doubled in the case of a tragic death.
The other coverage, he said, is administered by the host country where participants can make claim under the Workmen Compensation coverage for the US and Canadian programmes, if injured while on the job.
PART-SALARY PAYMENT
He explained that under this coverage, if a participant is made disabled while on the job that person is entitled to get two-thirds of his average weekly salary until he is able to work again. He, however, pointed out that in the case where he is unable to work for the rest of his life, due to this injury, he would continue to receive this sum until he dies. In the event of death, he said the participant's beneficiary usually benefits under existing law.
The Overseas Employment Programme has been providing job opportunities to Jamaicans through the United States farm work programme, which began in 1943, and the United States Overseas Hotel Employment programme since 1968, just two years after the Canadian farm work programme in 1966.
The programme generated close to $1 billion last year for the economy, most of it being derived from remittances with the US farm work programme bringing in $250 million while the hotel worker programme brought in $445 million. Meanwhile, Jamaican workers in the Canadian programme generated $302 million.
