NHWU Petition for Justice, Dignity, and Fairness for Jamaica’s Tourism Workers

For over a decade, Jamaica’s tourism workers have given 10–15 years of service on temporary contracts, only to leave with two weeks’ pay—no pension, no housing pathway, no long-term security. This is not the exception. It is the system.

Workers are silenced through contract employment. Speaking out leads to blacklisting, job loss, and hardship. I know this personally. No worker should have to choose between telling the truth and surviving.

Despite tourism generating US$4.38 billion annually, workers were left unprotected after Hurricane Melissa—no contingency plan, no unemployment support, no welfare safety net. Charity filled the gap where policy failed. Existing tourism housing programs reach less than 4% of workers.

At Bahia Principe alone, nearly 2,000 workers were made redundant after years of service. In 2024, workers at nine hotels protested nationwide because wages and conditions had become unbearable.

Barbados earns far less from tourism yet pays workers more. Low wages in Jamaica are not inevitable—they are a policy choice.

Our Demands
 • Livable wages: US$8–US$10/hour, overtime pay, inflation-linked increases
 • End exploitative contracts: pathways to permanent work and protection from blacklisting
 • Housing security: access to housing loans after 5 years of NHT contributions; rent-to-own options
 • Worker protection: health coverage, 6 months unemployment support, disaster assistance
 • Safe voice: whistleblower protection, confidential reporting, independent labour enforcement

Call to Action

Sign this petition. Share it. Demand change.
Tell the Government of Jamaica, the Ministry of Tourism, and hotel corporations that tourism workers deserve dignity, security, and fair pay.
Tourism cannot thrive while its workers struggle to survive

— National Hospitality Workers Union (NHWU)

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