Professor Floyd Morris is urging Jamaicans to treat senior citizens with respect, showing them care and appreciation for their efforts and contributions to building the country.

The senator is one of the members on the Special Select Committee appointed to review a private member’s motion on the proposal for an Elderly Care and Protection Act.

Speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, Senator Morris said there are more than  320,000 senior citizens in Jamaica.

“Looking at the contribution of senior citizens to our society, these are individuals who have toiled and laboured for Jamaica, and they face various challenges in the Jamaican society. People abuse them and people take – Jamaicans would say take ‘disadvantage’ of them. We ought not do that to our senior citizens. They are individuals that we need to love, show appreciation for and respect. You determine the civility of a society based on how you treat your vulnerable population, your children, your disabled population, and your senior citizens,” he said.

In 2021, Senator Morris moved the private member’s motion in the Senate, calling for legislation to protect the nation’s senior citizens

“As you grow older, you are likely to develop some form of disabling condition, [highlighting] a critical intersectionality between disability and ageing. In recognising that situation, I realise that there is a deficit in terms of the legislative landscape for one of the largest vulnerable groups within our population, our senior citizens, which comprise about 13.2 per cent of our population,” Senator Morris said.

“Currently, you have a situation where we have legislation in place, such as the Childcare and Protection Act, to protect children and the Disabilities Act to protect persons with disabilities. But the senior citizens have no legislation. There’s the National Policy for Senior Citizens, but what we want to do is to close the loop and make sure that there is legislation to protect our senior citizens,” he added.

Meanwhile, Senator Morris said he is happy to see the contribution of members of the Senate in this motion.

Both the Government and Opposition unanimously approved the motion in October 2024, setting the stage for the Special Select Committee to look at the scope and magnitude of the legislation.

“I was very heartened to hear the contributions that were made, highlighting the need for systems to be put in place to provide care and support for our senior citizens, to make sure that provisions are there for estate planning, healthcare systems, pensions – big issue for our senior citizens, and security; and member after member in the debate highlighted the need for Jamaica to protect our senior citizens,” Senator Morris said

Research suggests that by 2050, senior citizens (persons over 60) will comprise anywhere between 25 per cent and 30 per cent of the population. This underscores the need for the development of legislation that caters for this group.