NelsonTHE BUSTAMANTE Industrial Trade Union (BITU) yesterday severely lashed back at the National Workers Union's (NWU) criticism of the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) general election manifesto which appeared in yesterday's Gleaner.
"I am amazed at the lengths politicians parading as trade unionists will go to sing for their political supper, particularly those devoid of the guts to let the workers know what is their real objective," BITU vice-president Dwight Nelson responded on behalf of his union in a release.
NWU vice president Danny Roberts criticised the JLP's manifesto in yesterday's article for "failing to deal with workers' issues". But, Mr. Nelson snapped back that Mr. Robert's criticism was simply an example of "politicians parading as trade unionists".
The BITU is affiliated to the JLP while the NWU is affiliated to the People's National Party (PNP). Mr. Roberts and Mr. Nelson are vice presidents of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), the umbrella organisation for local trade unions.
Responding to Mr. Roberts' claim that "the manifesto has failed to show plans to strengthen and develop industrial relations and secure trade union representation". Mr. Nelson said that the NWU vice president was demonstrating "a woeful lack of understanding of industrial relations".
"Simply put, the industrial relations system speaks to the relationship among three players, the worker, the government and the employer. All these players are in some way or form affected by the societal systems, legal, economic, religious, etc.," Mr. Nelson said.
"Their reactions and responses to these effects, inevitably create disagreements which need appropriate machinery to ensure that accommodations are arrived at and not lead to dislocations."
Mr. Nelson said the industrial relations system ensured all three parties were not disadvantaged by an imbalance of power and influence. He said proper labour laws was one instrument for ensuring balance.
"Danny Roberts has sat in many meetings with me and heard the cries of both workers and employers at the inadequacy of existing labour legislation. His own colleagues in the NWU have made numerous proposals for reform of these laws," he said.
Turning to the question of how does the JLP's manifesto address labour legislation, Mr. Nelson said, "I am sure all genuine trade unionists and progressive employers will welcome the JLP's plan to comprehensively reform labour legislation."
Mr. Nelson said the JLP's manifesto would seek to strengthen and promote Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in strategic industries, "so that workers are not exploited, but be made to benefit from increased productivity and efficiency."
Sound industrial relations practices could only be created with the reform of inadequate laws to protect all the players and an acceptance by the players that adversarial relationships must be transformed into models of co-operation and respect.
"The rights of the workers can only be protected when there is an acceptance of these rights. It is this that the JLP vows to work towards," Mr. Nelson said.
He said that over the past five years almost 150,000 jobs had been lost and many trade union leaders "painfully" had to face the frustration of their members who had been made redundant, because new work methods brought about by restructuring of the workplace had made their skills irrelevant.
"The JLP's manifesto speaks to the creation of a highly competitive, educated and trained labour force through the introduction of a national workmen upgrading skills programme. Clearly, it must be accepted that the plans of the JLP recognises the worker as our most important resource.
"They have struggled for the past 13 years to find fulfilment. How can Danny Roberts and his colleagues now appease them? Better still, how can they explain 13 years of delay and neglect?"
