Are goodness, compassion and kindness things of the past? Hello, everyone. I ran into a woman who told me her fascinating story. She was unemployed, like many others, and desperate to get a job. She didn’t want to resort to prostitution, like many girls do, to get money and support her young daughter. I was very impressed by her and her inner strength not to compromise her principles. She was articulate, intelligent, attractive, and anyone would be proud to have her as an employee. She applied for a job, which was referred to her by a friend, at a small hotel in Ocho Rios. The new owner, hired her and told the woman that because of her lack of training she would be paid only two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per week. The woman was told that after two weeks on-the-job training she would start getting minimum wage. After one week she quit because the job was more than she signed up for. Her work schedule was twelve hours per day Monday thru Friday and eight hours on Saturday. The training she was supposed to get did not materialize and she was left on her own to clean rooms, do laundry, general sweeping and run front desk. I called Ministry of Labor in Kingston to find out the legality of such business practice. In the back of my mind, I knew that the owner made sure there was nothing illegal.
TRANSFERRED
When I called Ministry of Labour I was put through to the Labour Department, which transferred me to a Consolation Officer. When I mentioned that I was writing an article, our conversation ended at that point and I was transferred to the Public Relations Officer who transferred me to Director of Pay and Condition. All I wanted to find out was the legality of the situation and I had to spend an hour on the phone before reaching the right person. I finally spoke with Ann Marie Hodes, a director, who was worth the wait. She was very professional, courteous, patient and knowledgeable. I was impressed, I learned, and she made my day. I learned that this is a grey area and simply the woman entered into arrangement which made it all legal. The minimum wage being five thousand six hundred dollars, the owner saved three thousand one hundred per week. How can anyone survive on hourly pay of thirty six dollars and seventy six cents? What happened to goodness, compassion and kindness? Is it OK to exploit people and where does morality fit in? Jamaicans wake up, stand up, take action.
