Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is promising that the long-awaited pension scheme for tourism workers is to come on stream in June.

Speaking on Monday, Bartlett said the final touches were being put in place for the launch of the scheme by midyear.

He said the tourism ministry has been sensitising workers in the sector over the last two years about the relevance and importance of the initiative.

Bartlett had previously indicated that the pension fund would attract the same kind of fiscal arrangement as other established pension funds and that contributions would be tax-free.

He said the Tourism Enhancement Fund Act would be amended to allow for the injection of one billion dollars into the pension fund.

The need for the creation of a pension scheme came amid concerns that tourism workers did not have access to a social safety net after retirement.

The scheme that was first proposed some four years ago is to benefit all categories of tourism workers, including red cap porters, craft vendors, ground transportation operators and hotel workers.

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