Denise Reid, Gleaner Writer

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett removes the last piece of luggage from his cart, as he does his duty as a red-cap porter at Sangster International Airport on Saturday, the beginning of the 2007-08 winter tourist season. - Photo by Mark Titus

Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett on Saturday announced that the sector would work to start an industry pension plan to assist airport porters.

Speaking at a function held to honour the red-cap porters of Montego Bay, Bartlett explained, "Too many of you, particularly those of you who are not on salaries, have to rely on frugality to ensure your future."

Bartlett said that the porters, however, would have to contribute to this fund.

The red-cap porter service was established in 1967 under the direction of John Pringle and Colonel R.T. Michellin. The porters, who assist in transporting travellers' luggage, were not salaried staff and were remunerated solely through tips.

Right time

"It is a welcome move for the industry," Levi Smith, president of the Red Cap Porters' Association, told The Gleaner. "We are happy and believe that it has come at the right time."

In a move to recognise the hard work of the porters who have played a seminal role in the industry, the Jamaica Tourist Board held a function on Saturday commemorating the 40th anniversary of the inauguration of the red-cap porter service.