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Trade unionists say Government’s disregard for industrial relations process at root of hostile labour climate
BY NADINE WILSON Observer staff reporter wilsonn@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
TWO of the island's foremost trade unionists have accused the Government of disrespecting the industrial relations process and have pointed to that as the reason for the country's current turbulent industrial relations climate.
Both Wayne Jones, president of the Jamaica Civil Service Association; and Vincent Morrison, president of the National Workers Union, yesterday chided Prime Minister Bruce Golding for not allowing the appropriate industrial relations mechanism to work in labour disputes, one of which has resulted in public sector teachers starting a two-day strike yesterday over monies owed to them by the Government.
"The Government is disrespectful of the process... He (Prime Minister Golding) is coming in too early," Jones told the weekly Monday Exchange meeting of Observer reporters and editors at the newspaper's head office in Kingston. "It is my firm view that he needs to allow the system to work, because this country has invested heavily in the conciliation officers in the Ministry of Labour. They have been sent all over the globe to be trained on conciliation, but they have not been allowed to take the process through."
He said the involvement of the prime minister and that of his ministers at the onset of industrial disputes was creating a systematic problem as it relates to how industrial relations should be handled.
But while he believed that the prime minister was too involved, Jones felt the labour ministry was often "missing
in action".
"The Ministry of Labour is the social conscience of the people and we find the Ministry of Labour being left out of too many things, they are just out of the loop, they are a reactive bunch. They are there and when they hear of pending industrial action, that's when they jump into action," said Jones.
Both trade unionists felt the Government's disrespect for the industrial relations process was also evident in its treatment of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), first signed in 2003 and under which the Government imposed a wage freeze in exchange for the State not cutting public sector jobs.
"Some of the issues that we have, inclusive of the teachers' situation, as we speak could have been avoided if the MOU wasn't put in file 13," said Morrison. "If the Government had recognised its usefulness and its value, I am sure that at this time perhaps we would not have the teachers out there."
Jones said the MOU was successful up until 2007 because of the provision of a Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, which kept tabs on what was happening in the public sector.
"Unfortunately, it seems to have taken a back-burner in the eyes of the Government," Jones said of the committee, adding that the JCSA has made efforts in recent times to have the committee reconvened.
With Jamaica being a signatory to various labour laws, the trade unionists said they subscribe fully to the principles of social dialogue, even though the present administration fails to see the importance of this approach to solving industrial disputes.
"An unfortunate deduction that we have to make is that the Government seems to have been concerned and interested in getting a wage agreement, rather than pursuing a process that would bring stability to the workforce," Jones said.
The Government has, over the past few months, convened meetings with various public sector workers, namely the teachers, nurses and police, in an effort to settle outstanding wage disputes. However, none of these meetings have ended on amicable terms. This has resulted in all three groups taking industrial action, with the most recent being the teachers.
In March, Senator Arthur Williams, state minister in the Ministry of Finance, told the Observer Monday Exchange that only $2 billion has been allocated in the budget this year to pay a portion of the $13.4-billion owed to public sector workers. The remaining $11.4 billion, he said, would be paid over the next three years in keeping with an agreement with the International Monetary Fund from which the country secured a US$1.27-billion loan.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...rial-relations
BY NADINE WILSON Observer staff reporter wilsonn@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
TWO of the island's foremost trade unionists have accused the Government of disrespecting the industrial relations process and have pointed to that as the reason for the country's current turbulent industrial relations climate.
Both Wayne Jones, president of the Jamaica Civil Service Association; and Vincent Morrison, president of the National Workers Union, yesterday chided Prime Minister Bruce Golding for not allowing the appropriate industrial relations mechanism to work in labour disputes, one of which has resulted in public sector teachers starting a two-day strike yesterday over monies owed to them by the Government.
"The Government is disrespectful of the process... He (Prime Minister Golding) is coming in too early," Jones told the weekly Monday Exchange meeting of Observer reporters and editors at the newspaper's head office in Kingston. "It is my firm view that he needs to allow the system to work, because this country has invested heavily in the conciliation officers in the Ministry of Labour. They have been sent all over the globe to be trained on conciliation, but they have not been allowed to take the process through."
He said the involvement of the prime minister and that of his ministers at the onset of industrial disputes was creating a systematic problem as it relates to how industrial relations should be handled.
But while he believed that the prime minister was too involved, Jones felt the labour ministry was often "missing
in action".
"The Ministry of Labour is the social conscience of the people and we find the Ministry of Labour being left out of too many things, they are just out of the loop, they are a reactive bunch. They are there and when they hear of pending industrial action, that's when they jump into action," said Jones.
Both trade unionists felt the Government's disrespect for the industrial relations process was also evident in its treatment of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), first signed in 2003 and under which the Government imposed a wage freeze in exchange for the State not cutting public sector jobs.
"Some of the issues that we have, inclusive of the teachers' situation, as we speak could have been avoided if the MOU wasn't put in file 13," said Morrison. "If the Government had recognised its usefulness and its value, I am sure that at this time perhaps we would not have the teachers out there."
Jones said the MOU was successful up until 2007 because of the provision of a Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, which kept tabs on what was happening in the public sector.
"Unfortunately, it seems to have taken a back-burner in the eyes of the Government," Jones said of the committee, adding that the JCSA has made efforts in recent times to have the committee reconvened.
With Jamaica being a signatory to various labour laws, the trade unionists said they subscribe fully to the principles of social dialogue, even though the present administration fails to see the importance of this approach to solving industrial disputes.
"An unfortunate deduction that we have to make is that the Government seems to have been concerned and interested in getting a wage agreement, rather than pursuing a process that would bring stability to the workforce," Jones said.
The Government has, over the past few months, convened meetings with various public sector workers, namely the teachers, nurses and police, in an effort to settle outstanding wage disputes. However, none of these meetings have ended on amicable terms. This has resulted in all three groups taking industrial action, with the most recent being the teachers.
In March, Senator Arthur Williams, state minister in the Ministry of Finance, told the Observer Monday Exchange that only $2 billion has been allocated in the budget this year to pay a portion of the $13.4-billion owed to public sector workers. The remaining $11.4 billion, he said, would be paid over the next three years in keeping with an agreement with the International Monetary Fund from which the country secured a US$1.27-billion loan.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...rial-relations
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