In sorrow and solidarity, CUPE Ontario and the International Solidarity Committee stand with the people of Jamaica as they confront the catastrophic devastation and enormous scale and costs of reconstruction following Hurricane Melissa.
The destruction in Jamaica is staggering, especially in coastal communities still recovering from the damage caused by Hurricane Beryl in 2024. Communities are cut off, homes and hospitals damaged and farms flooded. There have been mass power outages and vital services like education, health care, municipal and social services are interrupted.
The effects on workers are profound: first responders are pushed to the limit, workers’ ability to deliver public services is fractured, and thousands have lost their livelihoods, especially those workers in low-paid and precarious jobs.
“Disaster capitalism” must not be given another opportunity to privatize public services and exploit the workers who deliver them. CUPE Ontario’s donation to the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions, made on behalf of 309,000 CUPE members in the province, will help ensure that Jamaica’s recovery supports decent work, workers’ rights, and community resilience.
CUPE Ontario and the International Solidarity Committee also acknowledge that labour and climate justice are inextricably linked. Increasingly intense storms like Hurricane Melissa are indisputable evidence of climate breakdown; our response must recognize the role that our own actions play in the creation of all climate-related crises.
Canada carries enormous responsibility for the role its greenhouse gas emissions play in the super-heating of the planet. Our own governments’ policies and the lack of accountability required of fossil fuel corporations can be directly linked to catastrophic storms like Hurricane Melissa.
As trade unionists, we demand that Canada materially support Jamaica’s humanitarian relief and long-term reconstruction – not just as part of our obligation to international aid, but as part of our collective commitment to justice and redress. We demand action on provincial and national scales to reduce emissions, hold corporations accountable and a labour-centred, just and green transition away from the carbon economy.
We make this demand in support of workers of Jamaica and in their right to immediate relief, a dignified recovery and to partnership in fighting the causes and effects of catastrophic climate change.
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