PNP Concerned by Reports of Below Industry Standard Wages for SPARK Workers

The opposition People’s National Party, PNP, has raised concerns about reports that Jamaican workers employed under the SPARK Programme are being paid below industry-standard wages.

President of the Incorporated Masterbuilders Association of Jamaica, IMAJ, Richard Mullings, is quoted as saying unskilled workers are reportedly being paid $3,000 per day.

The figure is reportedly well below the daily wage of just over $4,800.

That daily wage was established in the 2025 to 2027 Joint Industrial Council Labour Management Agreement.

In a statement on Friday, opposition spokesperson on labour, Wavell Hinds, says IMAJ has also reported that local contractors and suppliers are being sidelined in favour of foreign entities.

Hinds labelled the reports as deeply troubling. He also condemned the government’s failure to uphold basic labour standards.

Meanwhile, opposition spokesperson on works, Richard Azan, says the government must come clean on the work being done under the SPARK programme.

Azan says the government must detail the percentage of works subcontracted to local contractors, the full duration of the programme, and its progress to date.

The opposition is also rejecting works minister, Robert Morgan’s, statement that the ministry cannot dictate how CHEC engages local contractors. 

The PNP is calling for urgent action to correct what it calls an imbalance in the programme.