I am a two to three month ten year visitor of Treasure Beach. I enjoy the sleepy, low key nature that the town is to me, but I am more concerned about what the full time residence want it to be.

However, I do want to make sure the readership of TB.net is very, very clear that the pursuit of more tourists to Treasure Beach, though important and desirable, will NOT result in any more jobs for local residents.

If the town wants more tourists, i am all for it. More tourists put more money in the hands of local business people. All of them. Great for business, for Pardy, for Diner's Delight, for Jake's, for Smurf's, for Golden Sands, etc, but there will be no more jobs. Five more meals, 5 more rooms, 5 more loaves of bread or phone cards...a nice daily increase to the bottom line, but no more jobs.

Treasure Beach is not a tourist town. It is a farming, fishing, tradesperson community. These are the people that really need help.

The major tangible benefits will come from three areas that I can think of (feel free to add your own.)

#1 Work opportunities abroad, specifically H2B visas to the States. H2B is an American program that allows seasonal businesses to employ foreign workers for up to 9 months. I have used the program for ten years. As a landscape business owner in Massachusetts, I am seasonal. Restaurants and hotels in touristy areas are seasonal. Six or seven years ago 70-80 workers from this area went to the States, granted leaving their families is a bitter pill) worked for the given season and came back for the winter. Last year maybe only 15-20 went on the program. I would request that anyone who knows an owner of an American seasonal business, forward me a contact name and number and I will attempt to get the owner to participate. I would like to get the number of H2B visas up to 100 by 2013.

#2 Think globally but hire locally.

Treasure Beach tradespeople built my house, concrete, septic, electrical, plumbing, tile, steel work. "On time, done right" would be the tag line.

We have many talented trades people here in town. Without mandating it, of course, I would suggest that we urge our friends, and probably strangers as well, to hire the local tradespeople and their crews. I do not know how most efficiently to do it, maybe a published list of tradespeople with references, but it needs to get done. I find it unconsciounable that someone who would choose to build a home here would use outsiders unless absolutely necessary. Have any ideas?

#3 Pay fair wages-

The exchang rate is presently about 85J : $1 US. 1000J is equal to about $12. Do you really think that is fair for a seven hour day of labor? Does anybody? I am not sure what fair is but it has to be more than 1200J/day. If you are building a house here in Treasure Beach commit to paying a little more rather than a little less. As a tradesman in the States I don't like to be the lowest bidder, do you?

Looking forward to your comments. My local number, until March 3 is 876-867-2185. After that my number is 508-877-6779.
My local email is rbsturgis@aol.com but after March 3 it is rs@rbsturgis.com

Roger Sturgis

From Lord Claude Parchmen,base in the U.K.
I very much like the idea of a Local LIST OF TRADE PERSONS.{NotTrademans}It was a God send blessing that through word of mouth I meet and employed Linton and his brothers to complete my house in T.B.
They are doing a great job after all the monies I had wasted employing out of Town workers.

Is the $1200 a day for skilled or unskilled labor?

We pay 1500 JA a day for unskilled labour.

Mr.Sturgis you raise some very valid points, your number #3 especially.

$12US a day or $1.50 an hour to have a job in Treasure Beach in 2011??????

So people next time you are in Treasure Beach enjoying your curry goat or well cold Red Stripe taking in the beauty of St.Elizabeth. Remember the workers and their measly $1.50US an hour wage if you can stomach it. This type {edited by TBNet} happens everywhere in Jamaica not just Treasure Beach. Yes, some employees are paid better but not as many as you would like to think, trust me. I bet you didn't know this or have given it any thought in your travels to Jamaica right? Think about it now or next time your in TB. {edited by TBNet}

Maybe you don't care and all you want is the sun & sand and to relax. That is ok but if you do care about the hard working TB locals please read on. Over the last 10yrs of visiting TB I have had many reasonings with many differnt locals and understand the mistreatment of the working people all to well. Its not an easy fix with many dynamics to consider but it needs to be told and brought to the forefront once & for all. Mr. Sturgis has opened the door and I thank you for that. It shouldn't be kept as a dirty secret because its wrong and needs to be exposed for what is is, {edited by TBNet}

People who are brave and have voices need to stand up for the silent mistreated workers. They can NOT speak out or they too will be unemployed & replaced. Have a heart to heart with your favorite locals and ask the hard questions if you dare. You will not want to hear the truth but it must be told and understood to find a solution. Equal pay for equal work in 2011 that is all any workers want, NOT $12US dollars a day less taxes!!

If only eveyone in TB had the internet I wonder what comments would surface here on this topic alone. Do the math see the truth about how business is run in TB. Everyone needs to check themself from here on out{edited by TBNet}. Do what you can but do something because something is better than nothing. This madness must end for the sake of the TB people, the TB workers & their families. Fair pay is all they silently want & need to make a better life. You can do better so start today.....

{edited by TBNet} talk with the workers yourself to understand "wha gwan" in Treasure Beach and island wide for that matter.

**The numbers may not be exact {edited by TBNet}

I've been visiting Jamaica since the early 80's and have spent a whole heap of time in St.Bess of late. I can no longer hold my tongue, so hear me now...

Pay Working People Proper / Fair Pay for Fair Work / {edited by TBNet}

- Mike Henrickson

We pay 2,000 for skilled workers, as I think is the going rate now, for full day of work.
They should get a fair pay, I agree, they do better for you when you appreciate them

SO CAN SOMEONE SAY WHAT IS THE DAILY PAY FOR LABOURERES BY GOVERNMENT STANDARD?

Thank you Mike, well said

1500JA = $17.26US for an 8hr day or work? Really?

How does that make you feel paying $2.15 an hour to people in 2011?

Minimum wage in Jamaica:

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100224/business/business4.html

The minimum wage computes to $1.21 per hour. I presume this is for non-skilled workers or labourers. Therefore, the person paying 1,500 JA per day is paying $2.83 per hour which is more than twice the minimum wage.

I would pay those that work with me New York or London prices if I got New York or London prices for my art and craft.

There are some very interesting points in this string. Mr. Sturgis is correct in saying many of the workers in Treasure Beach are not paid what he considers fair wages. He is also correct in suggesting that local people should be hired before going outside the area if one can find people with the correct skills. I think it is admirable he helps people get work visas to go abroad and I am assuming he does not find them jobs where people return with hardly anything saved because they are working in a place where the cost of living is very high.

I disagree with him that Treasure Beach is a farming, fishing, tradesperson community. Farming is essentially dead in Treasure Beach. It is difficult to buy many more things that eggs and melon, goat, and honey if you want things raised IN Treasure Beach. The fishing is going downhill and is one of the most dangerous jobs someone could imagine. It is also not very profitable. By tradesperson, I am thinking of more than builders but also of electricians and plumbers and carpenters. There definitely are good tradespersons around but it seems like feast or famine for them. They are either sitting on their hands with no work, or they are so busy it takes days to get an electrician unless you have a bloody emergency.

Even though I want fishing to get better and farming to increase, all this leads me to believe the future of Treasure Beach is tourism.

I also agree with Mike Henrickson when he says many employees in Treasure Beach are not paid fairly or treated well. We all have a good feeling who the good employers are and who are the employers of last resort.

I also agree with Rootsinclusive who implies tourists pay less for a hotel room or villa rental in Treasure Beach than they do on the North Coast. The owners receive less so they pay less.

The cost of food for people who live in Treasure Beach is not much lower than the cost of food on the North Coast. JPS and the Water Commission charge the same wherever you live and this affects more than the workers. Mr. Henrickson should understand that hotels and villas receive very high bills and this makes their income even less.

The bad thing is I do not have an intelligent solution to the problems faced by people who live in Treasure Beach. One thing people might be able to do is to try and patronize establishments that are the most fair and generous to their employees.

The article is over a year old (Feb24/2010) and it states a 40hr work week at min wage is $4070Ja or $47.88US = $1.19US an hour and for security guards its $6050Ja or $71.17US = $1.77US an hour.

How can a working person make ends meet with pennies for a wage? They must taxi or bus to work, buy lunch, taxi or bus back home.

How can villa & hotel owners collect hundreds if not thousands of US dollars for renting out rooms and pay only a fraction/pennies of those monies back to workers in Ja dollars with clear conscience and a clean heart? Yes you are in business to make a profit but at what cost to the human condition?

Yes, there is overhead to running a business, yes there are ins & outs I am not aware of being Canadian and not involved in any business on the island. [edited by TB.Net]

This topic has made me very angry & upset because I know how Jamaican people live hand to mouth for real. I have Jamaican family & friends in St.Bess and on the north coast as well. [edited by TB.Net]

[edited by TB.Net] Believe me if I was a resident in St.Bess I would be spending all my time & energy spearheading a movement on changing the wages for the working poor. When I see places charging $120US up to $800US a nite and paying staff less than $2US an hour my words fall short. How could they not!

Slavery used to be ok at one time too but that does not mean we have to let mistreatment carry on without challenging it at it roots. Lets stop the madness & help the working poor, PLEASE!!

- Mike Henrickson

Here's the latest.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110126/lead/lead3.html

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110210/cleisure/cleisure2.html

In 2010 the US hotel occupancy rate was 63.5%. This is an average, with some cities having higher rates and some lower. The average daily rate was 10% less than 2008 rates. Occupancy rates are not necessarily a true indication of the economy for any country or city because if additional rooms are made available then the occupancy rate will go down if the number of tourists remains constant. We know rooms and hotels keep being added in Jamaica even though there are not more tourists no matter what the Ministry reports.

Treasure Beach was particularly hard hit in 2010. We can all recall almost no tourists for a several month period. Places such as Marblue appeared to be closed for months from about August to October. I do not know the average occupancy rate for rooms in Treasure Beach in 2010, but I would believe it was lower than 63.5%. Most establishments did not raise their rates and several lowered them or offered special deals to encourage occupancy.

If there are no guests are almost no guests it is difficult for a hotel or villa to maintain a full staff and keep paying their employees. If there are no guests, the hotel and restaurant employees will not be receiving tips.

These things factor into wages being low in Treasure Beach.

The exchange rate has been fairly constant for the last year or two (85:1), so if people are paid in Jamaican dollars they have not suffered loss of wages due to the exchange rate. When the exchange rate moves, however, wages do not always move along with it. For example, in 2001 the exchange rate was roughly 45:1; in 2006, it was roughly 65:1. I question whether wages went up at least 44% from 2001-2006 and then went up another 31% from 2006 until the present. If they did, this would still mean people got no effective gains in pay for the last decade.

I understand Jamaican employers pay in Jamaican dollars. I also know many establishments in Treasure Beach are owned by Americans, Canadians, and British. I wonder how many of those employers pay in American or Canadian dollars or British pounds as opposed to Jamaican dollars. By my calculations, employees receiving wages in currencies other than Jamaican usually have the advantage.

Is there an unspoken understanding that everything will be cheaper in a so called third world country? Cheap labour, cheap resources and cheap thrills?

Years ago I was asked to work with a movie Co from foreign. My skills made me perfect for the job. Their offered salary reflected cheap. 'Bout "Our budget does not allow..." and the union rules. Riiight. I was fortunate to be able to tell them to go find someone else. Many cannot.

How are people supposed to know which are the good employers. I know employers won't say what they pay. Every employer thinks they are fair. Could people suggest names of places they think pay fairly and treat their employees fairly. I think it would be wrong for people to list places they think are unfair unless they are 100 percent positive and willing to back it up with facts.

We cannot and will not post names of establishments within this thread as there is no way we can research what is said to know if it is fact or someone's opinion regarding any establishments' employee treatment. How many times have you heard a very disgruntled employee bash a place and the next employee say how happy they are working there. Sorry folks, but we ain't going there!

TBNet

Iam just a correctional officer who cares, loves Jamaica and would like to see the working poor have a future to look foward to. Changing the min wage would be a great start if only.

Lets make it fair for everyone in the hospitality industry {edited by TBNet}

A) Revise the property tax system so each business pays what their TRUE property values is worth in todays market.

Why should a "mom & pop" villa on 1 acre of land 10 minutes from the sea worth $300,000US pay the same property tax as Bandals on the Beach that is worth 8 million American?

Don't laugh this is not far from the truth. The tax system is badly broken and needs to be updated with modern land values in the calculation. This could help out with the IMF nightmare maybe but that is another story.

B) Mom & Pop villa only make $8000Us per season while Bandals on the Beach makes $950,000Us. Should they both pay the same taxes?

I think some wiggle room could be found in there and maybe just maybe the working poor could have a livable wage to be proud of and have a higher standard of living and be better for it.

- Mike Henrickson

The hospitality industry has many limitations like weather, economies, disposeable income of visitors, high season, low season, drought, crime rate, flood, vacancy rate, rain season, on & on.

The business people in TB are making money, good, bad or otherwise they are making money lets be honest. Somtimes plenty of money and somtimes not so much.

They are not losing money year after year. If any were losing or struggling we all would see for sale signs everywhere. Thats not the situation in Treasure Beach. The construction of new homes, villas, resorts is starting to spread out. TB is not the sleepy likkle village anymore. Business people can smell opportunity and land is being bought up and developed at noticable pace.

The minimum wage is only a guideline not the law. Profit margins may shrink but workers, everyone one of them, deserves that wage at the very least. Lets hope enforcement happens sooner that later.

Mike, I can sense your outrage, but be realistic.

You should see the list of the guest properties actually on the market. If you are unaware of how many there are call a realtor. You may be shocked.

Second, are you actually proposing the real estate taxes be changed for Treasure Beach or all of Jamaica? Or are you proposing the people of Treasure Beach pay what you believe would be fair no matter what their tax bills are? In that vein, why not have only "rich" people pay GCT?

@True North.

First, where do you get your numbers? Is there a source, or are you making them up?
For example, using your numbers if the mum-and-pop villa pays a worker US$2 an hour for a 40 hour work week in a 52 week year, the worker earns US$4160. Subtract that from the US$8000 and the owner is left with US$3840 to pay bills and themselves. One can argue that the worker doesn't get paid for weeks they don't work, but halving the number of weeks paid still shows a problem with how much the owner has to pay bills.

Next, have you any experience running a business in JA? Have you spoken to anyone who does and know what their costs are?

Lastly, have you compared (reliable) data on salaries in other parts of the country to TB wages?

I would argue that until you have information about both sides of the coin, you are not in a position to speak intelligently on the subject. Passionately, yes, and I applaud your compassion for your fellow human, but it seems that it colours your reasoning.

I am not an expert, I'll admit that all day long every day. However on good authority I have my facts. I have never run a business on the island but know of people who do. Here in TB as well as in Negril. I know what overhead challenges they face all of them. My Jamaican wife and inlaws give me insight to many of the local problems & concerns first hand. My island friends who work in the industry in TB and else where give me hard facts not hearsay.

My examples and numbers I used are just that, not hard numbers, not hard facts. Transparency is rare on this site I was tying to keep the dialogue alive. Seeking other ways to make a mininum wage possible for all workers. That is where the problem lies, not all workers are getting the minimum. That was the orginal issue and I do apoligize for getting off track.

I am a property owner in TB and know first hand how out of touch the property tax system is. I would say I know both sides of the coin well, but an expert, not me, not even close......

To Mike - [edited by TB.Net] I can find you a nice villa. In addition to paying all cash for it, please be prepared to pay liability and property insurance, GCT, the NWC, JPS, C&W, plumbing repairs, electrical repairs, painters. You need plenty for pool chemicals. Be sure to set aside money to replace the furnishings when they show wear and tear and the appliances when they break or JPS surges ruin things like a new fridge or deep freeze or your stereo or your wi-fi router. You'll probably want a generator. You'll need a caretaker to keep the pool and grounds up even if there are no guests, and he'll need an assortment of tools and perhaps a place to live on the premises. You'll need a housekeeper/cook. Best you should pay them even when there are no guests. You might want to set aside money for the five different employee taxes in addition to your property taxes. If you're not there year-round, I suggest you hire a professional property manager. Set aside time and money to handle any possible hurricane damage. To be a good neighbor, you'll want to help some local groups, so do have some cash to do that.

You'll want to have guests, so plan on advertising and making a website. Then, spend the time necessary to get the prospects to stay at your villa instead of the others.

Ah, don't forget those property taxes. Since you think they're too low, why not kick in what you think is your fair share?

After about two years, I'd love to know how much profit you make. The accountant you hire will be able to tell you.

I would add to the above to make sure to set aside a great deal of money for the hurricane damage as that is more a reality than a possibility lately and can mean replacing an entire roof, major beach clean-up, rebuilding of sea wall, etc. As for the property insurance - good luck trying to obtain a new policy which will cover you for hurricane damamge as most insurance companies will not cover you for that unless you pay a great deal more money per year.

And make sure, if you can, to save up any profit you may make during peak season because when your villa is empty for most of August thru November you still have to make payroll, payroll taxes, maintain the upkeep of the property, etc.

Oh, and don't forget, the rush time of Christmas and New Years when you are "raking in the big bucks", well, that money tends to go to paying off all the bills you have left over from the off-season which you were not able to pay because you weren't making any money.

And on and on and on.

I would love to meet a villa owner in Treasure Beach right now that is making a huge profit. Most every villa owner I know is in it because they love Treasure Beach and not as a business venture. And anyone thinking of going into the business of renting out a villa I give them the same advice. Don't go into it as a business venture but only go into if you have a love for Treasure Beach. Owning and operating a villa is not a money making venture as my 15 years of first hand experience managing villas in Treasure Beach has shown me. It used to be you could make a profit on the appreciation of value on the property if you decided to sell, but even that is not a guarantee at this time.

I agree with and applaud your passion for fair pay Mike, however, I do have to agree with "A Deal" that running a business here is certainly a challenge, and trying to make it a profitable business is even a greater challenge.

Thanks to everyone for the good advice & "heads up" I truely mean that honestly.

I have great admiration for all owners/operators. I do realize its not easy or simple owning/running a villa in Jamaica with short windows of time to make a profit. I have a good understanding what present owners are up against and know its just not opening your doors for business and raking in the cash. There is plenty or work of hard work behind the scenes and pitfalls along the way. I never said it was easy!

I have been working on a business plan for years now and will deploy it in TB the near future. The learning curve will be overwhelming but I look foward to all the challenges mentioned and the unforeseen.

I do love Treasure Beach / Jamaica and its people. I have a passion for fairness & enterprise. My goal is to employ as many locals as possible & pay them better than the mininum pennies being paid out today.

- Mike Henrickson

A dollar is a dollar in every country.The comparison is not fair i am working $10 an hour here in America and is wishing for more and believe i should be paid more but there is a set minimum wage here also.

I like your attitude Mike because you seem compassionate and intelligent. I truly wish you the best when you start your business. If you are from the U.S. I suggest you pay your employees in U.S. dollars in case there is a rapid change in the exchange rate as has happened in the past. If not, you end up ahead because you are paying your employees less and your employees end up getting a decrease in pay for doing the same work. Not all employers from the U.S. do this, but some do and I think that gives their employees more confidence they won't suffer the sudden drop in buying power that could happen if they are being paid in JA dollars.

I have been told that individual health insurance is prohibitively expensive. I asked an employer with 4 people including himself about group rates and he said he didn't think he could obtain it and the teachers were the only ones he knew who had health insurance through their employer. Is this true?

I Googled health insurance, Jamaica and this is what came up.

http://www.medecus.com/?q=about.htm

http://www.bluecross.com.jm/#

Everybody wants to be paid in US Dollars that is the mentality that destroyed jamaica in the first place, when i got my first job a US dollar
was 88 cent jamaican no body wanted it, but we developed the attitude that we could not wear or eat anything unless it was made in USA, so instead of farming the land and manufacturing what we needed, as we used to do, we started to import everything, so now $J is worthless
now the only thing we have left to offer is tourism for all the industries are gone, (we wan be like American,) be careful what you wish for!!

well said oldtimer well said.