Bartlett raps employers avoiding pension scheme

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has rapped some employers who, in his view, have not done enough to ensure employees participate in the Tourism Workers Pension Scheme (TWPS). “Several hotels that I have visited and attractions are not as energetic. I’m trying to find the right words here, because if I don’t find the right words I’m going to say some rough words,” the minister said with a laugh during the TWPS annual general meeting at Montego Bay Convention Centre last Friday.

“They’re not as energetic about getting you to join the pension plan because they have to put a matching contribution,” Bartlett added. He said he will take steps to ensure those employers are nudged into playing their part. “Let us make our employers mandatory champions.

I will be advocating for stronger compliance mechanisms. The employers who are contributing are doing the right thing. We must bring all employers on board,” said the minister.

“It must become a standard of doing tourism business in Jamaica,” Bartlett insisted. Established under the Tourism Workers Pension Act of 2019, the TWPS was launched with much fanfare in January 2022 to provide a social safety net for approximately 350,000 formal and informal workers within the sector. It has been billed as the first of its kind for tourism workers anywhere in the world.

It was seeded with a $1-billion grant from the Government of Jamaica to guarantee immediate accrued benefits for older qualifying members, including those as old as 59 at the time of its official launch and who would have had just six years before retirement. The pension scheme has seen substantial growth, with more than 11,000 registered members and total fund contributions reaching the $6-billion mark, but Bartlett has a greater vision. “We want you to enrol every worker, and match their contribution.

It is the best investment that you will ever make in your business,” he told employers whose employees remain uncertain about joining. “Here is my charge for the next chapter… let us move from 11,000 to 50,000 members by 2028,” he challenged. Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett addressing last Friday’s annual general meeting of the Tourism Workers Pension Scheme at Montego Bay Convention Centre.