Gary Spaulding report, Gleaner biased against Government?

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I am responding to an article by senior Gleaner writer Gary Spaulding titled 'Union unity', which appeared in The Gleaner of Thursday, July 14.

The article is a paean of praise for the action of the unions in the national interest.

He states that "the labour leaders and membership had a right to be dissatisfied, disgusted and dejected at the treatment meted out to them by the Government".

What came over as a by-product was the later section in the article titled 'Contemptuous attitude', which was highly critical of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leadership: Golding and Shaw in the earlier contemptuous "don't have it stance".

In the light of the recent salary settlement by the group of unions with the Government, the article must be seen as being very biased and lacking the professional balance expected of someone like Mr Spaulding.

Setting things straight

I am attempting to set the record straight:

1. Clearly, The Gleaner's current obsession with its criticism of the prime minister in particular - a negative cartoon most days - and the JLP, in general, was dominant in the presentation.

2. No record was either implicitly or explicitly acknowledged of the financial meltdown that the Government faced in the initial negotiations with the unions and its inability to deal with the wage claim at the time, particularly with the IMF conditionalities. In addition, the historical legacy of a claim that was 'inherited' was not disclosed, and this factor was not taken into account.

3. Mr Golding's and Mr Shaw's initial comments may have been abrasive at the time, but were tempered in the final analysis by the settlement with the unions.

4. The settlement has, indeed, broached the IMF guidelines, but it has been a risk that the minister of finance has taken in the cause of the workers. This will still have to be worked out with our IMF masters. This was not recognised?

5. Credit must be given to the government negotiators for their role in the settlement, particularly Arthur Williams. Dwight Nelson happens to be a member of the Government.

6. When in recent history have we seen six or more unions signing, at the same time, a wage agreement with the prime minister and minister of finance?

The Jamaica Teachers' Association can no longer be included in the group of responsible unions as their action in bringing about the current crisis in education with the Teachers' Service Commission (TSC) is unfortunate and unduly confrontational.

The case of Balaclava Secondary School could well have been left to the courts to decide rather than blocking the operations of the TSC for months.

ALFRED SANGSTER