Letter of the Day | Protect worker wages in the wake of Hurricane Melissa
Published:Tuesday | November 4, 2025 | 12:06 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
Hurricane Melissa didn’t just topple trees and flood communities, it has also washed away days of hard-earned pay for thousands of workers who depend on a weekly income to survive. For minimum wage earners, many of whom already live pay cheque to pay cheque, even one missed workday can mean an empty fridge, unpaid bills, or children going to school without lunch money.
Unlike monthly salaried employees who may still receive full pay during natural disasters, weekly and daily-paid workers in the private sector often bear the brunt of these economic shocks. When businesses close for safety reasons, workers simply lose out, not by choice, but by circumstance. The question is: should they?
This recurring issue highlights the need for a national conversation on income protection during disasters. Hurricanes are not rare events in the Caribbean; they are an expected part of our climate reality. And yet, there are no clear policies that guarantee wage continuity for Jamaica’s most vulnerable workers when nature interrupts the work week.
One possible solution is for the government to encourage private sector employers to continue paying their staff in full during officially declared national emergencies, supported by temporary tax relief or exemptions. In this model, companies that maintain their employees’ wages during disaster periods could receive a percentage of payroll tax deductions or other forms of fiscal support. This approach would strike a balance between compassion and economic practicality; helping workers to stay afloat while enabling businesses to recover more quickly.
It would also signal a shift toward shared responsibility in national recovery. Hurricanes are also economic disruptors that test our systems of fairness and resilience. Minimum wage and weekly-paid workers, who already form the backbone of essential services such as sanitation, retail, and transportation, should not bear the full cost of a national disaster.
Policymakers should ask: what is the true cost of fairness? If we can predict the storms, shouldn’t we also plan for the livelihoods they threaten?
Because after the winds die down and the floodwaters recede, rebuilding a nation must start with its people – pay cheque included. We can do this as a nation which would make us one step closer towards sustainability and trigger a ripple effect in other Caribbean states as the leaders we are.
LEROY FEARON