Elizabeth Morgan | Jamaica and manual labour

“I leave m’yard early-mornin time

An set m’foot to de mountain climb,

I ben m’back to de hot-sun toil,

An m’cutlass rings on de stony soil,

Ploughin an weedin, diggin an plantin”

– From Evan Jones’ Song of a Banana Man

We are in Workers’ Week and on Thursday, May 23, Jamaica marks its national labour day. In other parts of the Caribbean and the world, it was commemorated on May 1, International Labour Day.

In previous articles, the focus has been on the future of work and automation. Now, this has advanced to Artificial Intelligence (AI). This article is about manual labour.

For many countries, and particularly developing countries, manual labour, jobs requiring physical work, is still very important. Studies are showing that manual labour will remain critical in several sectors, including agriculture (planting, reaping fruits and vegetables), fisheries (manning boats, preparing the catch), construction (bricklaying, building scaffolding, tiling), tourism (housekeeping, cleaning, chefs, bartenders), and heathcare (nursing, technicians, ward assistants). Some forms of work just cannot be completely mechanised. The World Economic Forum is forecasting that in years to come there will be an increase in jobs requiring manual labour.

Jamaica has been sending farm workers to the USA since the Second World War to do manual labour in agriculture. Later workers have also been going to Canada. The minimum wage in the USA is US$7.25 an hour (about $290 per week), and in Canada, it is about Can$17 per hour (about Can$680 per week).

It is said that Jamaica’s unemployment rate is now 4.5 per cent in 2023, but many of us know that this is not the real unemployment rate. About 71 per cent of the Jamaican population, aged 15 to 65, are employed. So this means that about 25 per cent are no longer seeking employment. In 2023, development economist, Chris Stokes, stated that about 40 per cent of those eligible for employment are outside of the formal system.

Many of us know that work is available, but it is manual labour. There are people looking for workers to do housework, gardening, repairs, plumbing, house maintenance, and they will tell you that it is increasingly difficult to find reliable and honest workers. Training is also a problem as many are not properly trained and certified for jobs for which they are offering services. Another problem is wages. Jobs, such as household workers, child minders, gardeners, are paying minimum wage which, as of June 1, will be J$15,000 (about US$96.00) for a 40-hour week. Some workers are looking for a daily rate of about J$5,000 (US$32) for an 8-hour day. In this economy, potential employers are themselves not in a position to pay higher wages.

There is a general view that many young people today are not willing to do manual labour, and not for minimum wages, which are not seen as living wages.

MANUAL LABOUR IN AGRICULTURE

A major complaint is the lack of workers in agriculture – to pick and sort coffee, cocoa, and other agricultural crops. An article in WiredJA News of April 1 titled ‘The Labour conundrum facing Jamaica’s Agricultural Sector’ points to Jamaica’s problem with workers in agriculture.

Workers are now demanding much higher wages to work in agriculture, reaping fruits and vegetables, doing weeding and planting, among other things. This is increasing the cost of local produce, helping to make them far less competitive against imported food items. It also affects produce for export increasing the cost of production and affecting timelines for reaping, hence affecting competitiveness as well.

The working conditions are also very difficult – poor roads, lack of sanitary conveniences, and health and safety issues. The weather conditions are a factor too – the sun is hot and it could be raining. Farms in Jamaica on average are quite small, so scale is an issue.

A solution that has been proposed is that Jamaica could import labour. This was immediately met with objections from various interest groups. It is difficult to see how this would work. Who would be coming to Jamaica to work in agriculture for about US$100 per week? Employers would have to pay airfares, if these were people coming from outside of Jamaica, and provide accommodation. This would just further increase the cost of production. Programmes for importing labour to Jamaica, post-emancipation, have not all been very successful.

It was interesting to see that some farmers were actually applying technology, using mechanised spraying, for example.

While greater use of technology could be useful in some areas, more creative ways have to be found to encourage young people to seek employment in local agriculture, if the intent is to expand production for the domestic and export markets.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com