THE EDITOR, Sir:

It should now be obvious that there is little likelihood of teachers, policemen and nurses getting a worthwhile wage from the Government. There is a mindset that has gained acceptance in this country which allows certain kinds of activities typified by:

(1) The financial gymnastics euphemistically described by media practitioners as 'overruns' resulting in events like Operation Pride ($5.5 billion), Sandals Whitehouse ($2.6 billion), Highway 2000, Air Jamaica, inner-city housing ($6 billion).

(2) The abandonment of a half-empty Oceana Hotel, an empty four-storey Century Bank building, a 12-storey Forum Hotel - empty for 30 years - and many other structures, owned by the people, and heading uptown to rent office space at rates higher than some of the most successful private sector organisations.

No country in the world that functions in this way can meet its obligations without increasing the national debt.

Explore possibilities

May I suggest that these negotiating teams explore the possibilities of benefiting from those resources entrusted to Government which would reduce the challenges they face on a daily basis. For example:

(a) Provide living accommodations on or adjacent to all schools,

police stations and health facilities.

(b) Provide mortgages at concessionary rates.

(c) Provide medical and dental services at existing facilities.

(d) Provide a duty-free vehicle every four years.

(e) Provide automatic student loans to children for tertiary education.

If something is not done soon, we run the risk of losing our best to neighbouring territories where a different management culture enables a trained, experienced veteran, in any of the disciplines mentioned earlier, to be better off financially, going there to work as a live-in-helper, filing clerk or security guard.

Confronted with information about a number of government scandals prior to the last elections, I heard a Central Kingston woman declare, "Mi nuh care, wi still a go win back". It is this absence of outrage that is nationwide, which convinces me that our situation is not going to change in the foreseeable future.

Any seasoned trade unionist, who tells workers that there are benefits in the MoU for them, should be viewed with suspicion.

I am, etc.,

GLENN TUCKER

Stony Hill