CARIMAC Times 2016: The JREAM Edition Journalists Reviving Awareness of what Matters | Page 69

C

laudette Moncrieffe sat on her
verandah clad in a blue blouse
and jeans skirt. Her dark, heavy
eyes were small and spaced evenly
apart on her circular face as they
stared like darts.

The laughter of children can be heard in the
distance as they play in the street in Moncrieffe’s
community of Hermitage, St. Andrew.
Her sturdy figure shuffled in the seat a number
of times and finally got still when she seemed
comfortable. Then she extended her right arm
upward and moved a lock of hair from the front
of her face.

She makes eye contact. Her voice, soft and low,
reveals the number she wants to be remember
— $6,500.
That is the amount she is paid per week for
working 40 hours at a wholesale store in
downtown Kingston.
Moncrieffe told CARIMAC Times that she works
five days per week, sometimes six, depending
on the work schedule. Yet, she is unable to make
ends meet. The amount she earns is not enough
to take care of her and her family.
“Di amount weh mi mek weekly cyaan [cannot]
pay mi bills, send mi son go school, buy
food, and pay mi bus fare fi go back ah work,”
Moncrieffe said.
The 40-year-old lives in a blue and white house
that has a small piece of tarpaulin hoisted at the
right side of the verandah. In the four-bedroom
house, Moncrieffe and her two sons occupy one
room. The elder of her two children is Ricardo

Campbell. He is 25 years old. Her second child,
Mark Finson* is 12 years of age.
However, Moncrieffe is not the only person
whose insufficient income directly affects his
or her quality of life.
Twenty-year-old Danielle Phang is also a lowincome single parent from the community of
Hermitage. She has one child, Jerome Mitchell*.
He is eight years old.
The income both women earn, coupled with
the high cost of living, has placed them at a
great disadvantage in caring for their families.
And they have decided to share their stories
which highlight some of the challenges faced
by low-income families across Jamaica.
According to a research carried out by the Urban
Institute in Washington, DC, United States of
America, a vast majority of low-income families
today are working but still struggling to survive.
They find it difficult to keep up with their bills,
including paying for health care and housing.
Their ability to provide opportunities for the
children they raise is markedly compromised.
They are also more financially vulnerable.
In addition, the Urban Institute has found
that low hourly wages account for why these
working-poor families have low incomes.
A country’s national minimum wage is a major
determinant of the standard of living its citizens
can afford. In Jamaica, the National Minimum
Wage was recently increased from $5,600 to
$6,200 for a 40-hour workweek, while the
minimum wage for industrial security guards
moved from $8,198 to $8,854.

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