PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson has mandated the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to develop a system of recruitment through which workers are to be employed at tourism development sites across the island.
He says the process should involve the Minister of Development, JAMPRO and other relevant Government agencies as well as the developers.
The decision comes against the background of an incident that occurred at the Pinero Group construction site in St. Ann, during which tear gas was used by the police to disperse a crowd of prospective workers. Mr. Patterson, who was speaking at the groundbreaking for the Palmyra Resort in Montego Bay last Thursday, said the Commissioner of Police had been asked to submit a full report on the incident.
"We must work with the investors to ensure some system of labour recruitment that is orderly, that allows the necessary skills to be recruited ... without exposing those who are in search of jobs to any form of suffering," Mr. Patterson said.
