Opposition Expresses Concern About Likely Impact of East & Gulf Coast Worker Strike on Jamaica’s Economy

Kingston, Jamaica, September 30, 2024: The Opposition (PNP) is today expressing concern over the likely impact of a strike by port workers at both East Coast and Gulf Coast USA terminals for cargoes. The contract between the workers and the port operators comes to an end tonight at midnight, and a strike appears imminent.

Speaking earlier today, Anthony Hylton, Opposition Spokesman on Investment, Trade and Global Logistics, expressed the PNP’s concern for the likely negative fall-out for Jamaica’s import and export trade with the United States, Jamaica’s largest trading partner, should the strike not be averted in the remaining few hours before tonight’s deadline. He said “a strike at this time by workers at the US ports, where the bulk of cargo destined to and from Jamaica are shipped, would have further negative fall-out on the Jamaican economy, which is already reeling from lower importation of both inputs into production and critical consumer items resulting from the sustained high interest rate policy of the BOJ”.

Continuing, Mr. Hylton said, “ the timing of a strike could not be worse, coming just after the lowering of interest rate by the BOJ, and an anticipated uptick in seasonal demand for both imported and exported goods and services in the Christmas Season”. The scale of the disruption in maritime trade would be global in its dimension and the only real mitigating factor would be the duration of such a strike by workers, the spokesman said.

Further, Mr. Hylton is calling on the government and the private sector to apprise the Jamaican population as to short and medium term contingency measures being put in place to mitigate the impact of a strike lasting more than a few days or weeks. Speaking for the Opposition, Mr. Hylton said “ this is precisely why the PNP has kept its focus on building a resilient supply chain and making Jamaica a trade hub for the Caribbean and America’s, in order to play an increased role in global supply chains and mitigate the shocks to its economy and the most vulnerable in its population.”