THE EDITOR, Sir:

I take note of the turbulence of the industrial relations front. I expect to see all of these disputes settled in good time. You will never have a time when there will be a total absence of conflict between workers and their employers, whether the employer is of the public or private sector.

The fact is that in the private sector, capital is always trying to maximise profit and improve cost-effectiveness and workers are always seeking to extract an income which allows improvement in their quality of life. Both objectives are consistent with civilised existence. Capital must expand in order to create greater production, economic growth and make an appropriate contribution to the cost of running the State (this is done through the payment of taxes.)

The worker is entitled to an income, which allows for adequate provision for his/her family and the capacity to enjoy basic civilized amenities, while also contributing to national development.

The public sector can only meet all its obligations when the income to the State is equal to the demands being made. The Jamaican State, starting as it did from the resource deficit inherited from the colonial power, is still seeking to balance the books, while balancing the lives of the people.

International factors

It is not the case that this effort is in isolation of external factors. The truth is that as we mature as a sovereign nation, international factors impact more on our lives than ever before. This means that governance in relation to both our domestic and external relations takes on added importance. The most important element of governance is to be able to unite the people in support of the national effort.

I am very pleased that despite the struggle which continues between workers and employers and the obvious difficulties which emanated from these struggles, the Govern-ment and the Jamaica Confedera-tion of Trade Unions have concluded two arrangements through the Memoranda of Understanding which allow for co-operation, consultation and collective decision-making in matters affecting industrial relations in the public sector. This is a gigantic step forward in consensus building in matters of governance.

It is a process which must be enhanced, not retarded, if the best interest of Jamaica is to be served. I am confident it will succeed. The fact is that over the last 15 years there has been significant progress in consensus building on the industrial relations stage.

The historic formation of the JCTU is but one example. The more open and respectful relationship between the tripartite components under the umbrella of the Labour Advisory Council is another.

It is all these factors and including the fact that real wages have improved significantly for public sector workers over the last decade, which have created the objective conditions for the progress we have seen on the industrial relations front.

Partnership for Progress

The final aspect of this national strategy of cooperation to which I look is the Partnership for Progress involving the Labour Movement, the Private Sector, the Opposition and the Government.

I would like to pay tribute to some leaders who have guided us on this path of national consensus over these last 15 years. They are former Prime Minister Most Honourable PJ Patterson and his predecessor the late Most Honourable Michael Manley, Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies, JCTU President Dwight Nelson and his predecessor the late Most Honourable Hugh Lawson Shearer and certainly our Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller.

I am, etc.,

DONALD B. BUCHANAN, MP

South-west St. Elizabeth

P.O. Box 28

Treasure Beach PO