News Detail

MEDIA RELEASE
MLSS PR Unit October 11, 2022

World Bank Delegation Pays Courtesy Call on Minister of Labour and Social Security

labour ministry with coat of arms

Public Relations Unit

1F North Street, Kingston

Tel: (876) 967-5484

Fax: (876) 948-2831

Monday, September 26, 2022

 

World Bank Delegation Pays Courtesy Call on Minister of Labour and Social Security

 

 

The Government of Jamaica (through the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service) and the World Bank are in discussion to design a new Social Protection Project. A delegation led by Mr. Luis Benveniste, Regional Director of Human Resource Development for the World Bank’s Latin American and the Caribbean Region, paid a Courtesy Call on Hon. Karl Samuda, Minister of Labour and Social Security (MLSS), on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, to discuss operationalization of the proposed project. The project will be executed through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

The project aims to strengthen Jamaica’s Social Protection Programmes and Systems in order to improve resilience of and increase opportunities for the Jamaican population. Among its objectives are

· expansion of current social insurance provisions to include Unemployment Insurance

· development of a Social Protection Information System (SPIS)

· capacity building of systems and human resources for effective disaster risk management response and

· strengthening of Labour Market Services

The project will be implemented through a number of strategic partnerships with government Ministries and agencies, including the Planning Institute of Jamaica, and the HEART NSTA Trust.

Minister Samuda expressed enthusiastic anticipation of the Project, which he says, “must establish systems to reduce waiting time from application to delivery of benefits. The digitization and streamlining of systems between agencies, to facilitate cross-referencing across government programmes in order to reduce duplication of benefits, as well as errors of exclusion and inclusion, is a priority”. “Training and certification of the Jamaican workforce in keeping with international standards, to make the workforce more marketable, is key”, said the Minister.

The World Bank is expected to field a Pre-Appraisal Mission to agree on further details of the project in early October, with a view to completing remaining steps ahead of approval by December. The $US25Million project is expected to begin implementation in June 2023.

 

Hon. Karl Samuda, Minister of Labour & Social Security (L) shares a light moment with Mr. Luis Benveniste, Regional Director of Human Resource Development for the World Bank’s Latin American and the Caribbean Region (C) along with Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Colette Roberts Risden, (3rd L), Director of Social Security, Ms. Suzette Morris (2nd L), and other members of the World Bank delegation.

 

 

Contact: MLSS Communication Unit (876) 967-5484
|Email: prunit@mlss.gov.jm
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