MOU II Signed With Trade Unions

When the Government and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), representing public sector workers, signed the second Memorandum of Understanding (MoU II) in May, it marked the most quickly concluded negotiations in years.

            At the signing at Jamaica House, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller joined trade union leaders in issuing a call for a broader social partnership among Jamaicans, which she said, would finally pave the way for the country to achieve success in all areas of national life.

            Mrs. Simpson Miller commended public sector workers and the trade union movement for the partnership that led to the signing of  the  second MoU. She said the partnership would help in the creation of a stable Jamaica and that what was required was for the country to go forward for growth and development.

            She said the government and trade unions were in agreement on the need for a first rate public service and urged public sector employees to give quality service to the Jamaican people.

            The new agreement placed a 20 per cent cap on wage increases for the 2006/08 period. The agreement also included a $500-million revolving loan fund to assist public sector workers to access tertiary education and training, as well as $50 million to continue a summer training programme to equip public sector workers to gain entrepreneurial skills.

            Minister Davies, speaking at the signing ceremony held at Jamaica House, emphasized that the new MoU went “beyond a wage agreement” and pointed “the way forward for a bigger agreement, and the forming of a social pact for all the various elements in the society”.

            Meanwhile, addressing the 35th anniversary service of the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU) in April, Mrs. Simpson Miller called on the trade union movement to continue to embrace the principle of partnership in the thrust to enhance the welfare of the Jamaican workforce.

            “We need to find a way to create sustainable employment and decent jobs for our people...we need now to change the course of history in this country, where all of us are going to work together for a better quality of life for all our people. I am prepared to lead this charge…for change,” she stated.

            According to the Prime Minister, “nothing can be done in this country without a partnership”.

            The Prime Minister charged the trade unions to help in the process to “heal the land”.

            “You need to get out there in communities, not only to speak up for the workers, but to speak for those who are unemployed, the oppressed and the dispossessed,” she stated, noting that such a move would “rescue” members of the youth population, who were in “the clutches of criminals”.

            “The struggle for freedom, democracy, equity and a decent standard of living for modern Jamaica is rooted in the trade union movement,” she stated.

PM Intervenes in cement crisis

            In May, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller intervened in the crisis in the local cement industry with a view to bringing to an end the supply problems experienced by the construction and hardware sectors.

             Following the decision to remove the Common External Tariff (CET)  of 15 per cent from imports over three months, the Prime Minister announced an extension of the duty free regime to one year. She said this would clear the way for potential importers to plan import programmes over a longer period, thereby eliminating the challenges being faced by them in sourcing a stable supply to meet the shortfall in the local market.

            The Prime Minister said she expected that the full benefits of the duty waiver would be passed on to the       consumer.