PNP rejects Audrey Marks plan to bring skilled US workers to Jamaica

The People's National Party has pushed back against a plan by Minister of Efficiency and Innovation Ambassador Audrey Marks to attract skilled labour from the United States to Jamaica.

Marks said the arrangement would allow Jamaica to take in these workers while stepping up the export of seasonal employees to the United States, in line with shifts in American immigration policy.

Opposition Senator Cleveland Tomlinson, however, dismissed the idea as unrealistic, pointing to Jamaica's comparatively low wage levels. He raised concerns that foreign workers might end up earning more than local staff doing similar jobs.

Tomlinson argued that the administration should invest in training and fair compensation for Jamaicans rather than recruiting migrants. If the state can afford to offer migrants stronger pay packages, he said, it ought to extend those terms to citizens first.