Danny Roberts

THE JOINT Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), is seeking a meeting with Prime Minister P.J. Patterson to discuss issues affecting the labour sector, including its approach to public sector reform.

Danny Roberts, spokesman for the JCTU, told The Gleaner yesterday they were awaiting a date for the meeting with Mr. Patterson, to discuss three main issues: the setting up of a productivity centre to co-ordinate production objectives; labour market reform, including amendments to labour legislation; and, public sector reform.

Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson

PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson has set the end of June as the deadline for Jamaica to decide on the proposed Caribbean Court of Justice, which the Jamaica Labour Party is opposing.

Opposition Leader Edward Seaga said in the Budget debate on Tuesday, that his party's insistence that "pure" justice must characterise the appellate process of final jurisdiction, had driven its determination to stick with the Judicial Committee of the United Kingdom Privy Council as the final Court of Appeal.

DESPITE GOOD support for the Cabinet changes made recently, the majority are of the view that Prime Minister Patterson did not make the right changes. This is one of the findings from a recent poll conducted on behalf of The Gleaner Company by Don Anderson and his team from Market Research Services Ltd.

The poll was conducted over the period March 10 to 23, 2000 and involved interviews with just over 1,000 persons aged 18 years and over, in all parishes. The sample was representative of the national population in terms of age, gender and socio-economic group. The sample error was + or -- 3.2 per cent.

THE MINISTRY of Labour and Social Security has had to pay an extra $3.6 million to some 100 construction workers who worked on the recently-completed and soon-to-be-opened Overseas Employment Centre 110-114 East Street, central Kingston.

The workers received their cheques at the Ministry on Thursday, after demonstrating sporadically for weeks in East Street outside the building for what they claimed were their final payments. They blocked East Street as recently as last week Tuesday holding up traffic for members of the public and for Members of Parliament going to Gordon House for the Budget debate.

Dr. Omar Davies

DR. NATHAN Richards is to sever ties shortly as chairman of the National Development Bank (NDB), says Dr. Omar Davies, Minister of Finance and Planning.

He disclosed this in the House of Representatives on Thursday as he closed the 2000/2001 Budget debate. He was responding to the charge made in the Budget debate on April 11 by Audley Shaw, Opposition spokesman on Finance, that Dr. Richards, previously named among public sector bosses earning $9 million or more, annually, was still being paid full emoluments despite his resignation.