Labour Day?

Press Release Ministry of Culture, Gender , Entertainment and Sport - May 15, 2026

The Hon. Olive Grange OJ

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has said that this year’s Labour Day will focus on the restoration of sports, early childhood and community facilities. 

The focus was selected in the context of the devastating hurricane Melissa which affected Jamaica last October.

The Minister also announced that there will be two national projects this year.

“One of the projects will be in Western Jamaica which was severely affected by hurricane Melissa.  That project will involve significant work at the Lewis Town Early Childhood Institution in St Elizabeth,” said Minister Grange. 

She said the school suffered severe damage during the hurricane, “and so we will all come together to ensure that we can restore a safe and comfortable place for the children to learn and to grow.”

This year’s other national project will be rehabilitation and construction works at Sabina Park, one of the country’s premier sports venues.

The Minister said the “much needed works at Sabina Park will enable the venue to successfully host upcoming international cricket assignments” including the Sri Lanka tour of the West Indies and the return of the Caribbean Premier League to Jamaica.

As usual, each municipality will lead a project on Labour Day.

Minister Grange said: “I’m encouraging everyone to let us put work into Labour Day.  There is much for us to do as we continue to recover from last year’s devastating hurricane and prepare for this year’s hurricane season, which begins on June one.”

Labour Day will be observed on Monday, May 25 because the 23rd falls on a Saturday.

The theme is ‘One People, One Purpose: In all things Jamaica Wins’.

Editor's Note

Can someone tell me what in this release tells you about the struggles and achievements of out workers? What are we observing Labour Day for? Is it just in memory of Michael Manley's "Put work into Labour Day?

Will we educate the workers about the work of Bustamante, St. William Grant, Marcus Garvey and others in the fight for the workers?

Probably, we need to check our history and ascertain why Labour Day was introduced in the first place.

What role will the Ministry of Labour play and what role will the trade unions play. We have sidelined the workers' unions from Labour Day, the Workers' Day.