TENSION SPARKS

The Incorporated Masterbuilders Association of Jamaica (IMAJ) has raised concerns over allegations that local workers hired by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) under the Government’s $45-billion SPARK road-improvement programme are being paid below industry-standard wages.

“We are told unskilled labour is paid $3,000 per day,” IMAJ President Richard Mullings said.

He told The Gleaner that this is well below the $4,841.28 per eight-hour day agreed on in the 2025-2027 Joint Industrial Council (JIC) Labour Management Agreement, which was signed by stakeholders in Jamaica’s building and construction industry in February.

“This not only breaches long-standing national labour standards but also undermines the dignity and economic well-being of Jamaican workers,” Mullings said.

The IMAJ also expressed frustration with the limited involvement of local grade-one contractors in the SPARK (Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to Our Road Network) Programme, despite previous assurances that Jamaican firms would be prioritised. The association further criticised the exclusion of local asphaltic concrete manufacturers, noting that materials are reportedly being sourced from foreign suppliers, which, they argue, contradicts national goals for economic empowerment and development.

“We are also concerned that the Government has allowed this imbalance or a lack of a level playing field. We, as an industry, have tried to maintain a certain way of doing things, a certain ecosystem that cares for the workers, where we work with the unions and we pay taxes and we pay import taxes and then a certain set of foreign contractors are allowed to run roughshod over us and the Government has made no push to have them follow industry standards,” Mullings said.

A letter dated April 4 from Stanley Jamaica Engineers Consultant to CHEC’s project manager queried the rates and labour conditions of local workers. It also reminded the main contractor of the terms of the engagement, which state: “The contractor shall pay rates of wages, and observe conditions of labour, which are not lower than those established for the trade or industry where the work is carried out … .”

The letter, signed by the engineer’s representative, Andrew Evans, further encouraged CHEC and its subcontractors to pay wages and observe conditions of employment not less favourable than those prescribed by the JIC for the building and construction industry in Jamaica “to ensure full compliance with the conditions of contract”.

A May 2 memo from the National Works Agency addressed to the minister with responsibility for works, Robert Morgan, noted that the engineer’s representative conducted a preliminary investigation to determine the wages being paid to employees on the SPARK programme.

It revealed that general labourers were being paid $400 per hour, excavator operators received $1,100 to $1,200 per hour, masons or tradesmen were paid a rate of $500 per hour, and roller operators were paid $600 per hour.

The memo further stated that CHEC indicated that if any anomalies were identified in the rates being paid on any package, it would be addressed immediately.

When contacted by The Gleaner, CHEC declined to speak on the matter.

The $45-billion SPARK programme is expected to rehabilitate some 2,000 roads across Jamaica, including more than 600 community roads. Work started in January and is being implemented in two phases, with one phase focusing on local roads and the other on main roads.

However, expressing frustration that “yet another major infrastructure initiative has been conceptualised and implemented in a manner that marginalises local industry players and stifles investment in local productive capacity”, Mullings is calling for the disclosure of the percentage of works subcontracted to local grade one and other contractors, the full duration and contract period of the SPARK Programme, the percentage of works completed to date, and the current rates being paid to local workers.

But Morgan noted that the SPARK programme’s execution is the result of an international tender. And while the contract between the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation stipulates that CHEC engage local contractors, he said the ministry cannot dictate to CHEC how it should go about doing so.

“We are aware that local contractors are being engaged. I know for a fact in Clarendon, there is a local contractor who has been engaged. We know that there are local contractors engaged in St Catherine. I also know that there are local contractors engaged in other parishes across the island,” he said.

sashana.small@glenerjm.com