Social partnership more heat than light

Robert Wynter, Contributor

November 20 will mark the 69th anniversary of the introduction of universal adult suffrage in Jamaica, a system that extended voting rights to all adults, irrespective of race, sex or social class.

Prior to universal adult suffrage, the right to vote was determined by the amount of wealth or property held. Members of the House of Representatives, for all intents and purposes, represented the interests of the moneyed class. Universal adult suffrage in 1944 changed all that with every adult citizen eligible to vote and be represented in Parliament.

As our Constitution ascribes to the Parliament, the purpose of making laws for the peace, order and good government of Jamaica, it can be argued that universal adult suffrage allowed each citizen equal access to contribute, via his/her respective member of parliament, to that peace, order and good government.

By virtue of the prominent role played by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), which represents a small minority of citizens, albeit a large amount of wealth, the recently signed social partnership has allowed the moneyed class to regain much of the power it lost to the common man nearly 70 years ago.

Very few citizens voted for PSOJ President Chris Zacca or for Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions President Lloyd Goodleigh, yet the social partnership seeks to provide them with greater powers in, ostensibly, holding the Government accountable than the 63 member of parliament who were elected by nearly 30 per cent of the country's eligible voters in December 2011.

It is, therefore, crystal clear that this social partnership is antithetical to our cherished democracy. In fact, the very leaders who have espoused and sworn to uphold our democracy now inexplicably want to destroy it through the social partnership!

PR EXERCISE

In response to the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party's declining to sign the Partnership for Jamaica Transformation Agreement, the Jamaica Observer of Tuesday, July 30, 2013 reported that "former Prime Minister Bruce Golding also tried to get a social partnership going in 2009-10, including the then People's National Party (PNP) Opposition, en route to a standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund in 2009-10.

Golding invited the participation of civil-society institutions to force wider participation in the process, but Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, the then opposition leader, said her party would not participate in what she described as 'an insincere and purely cosmetic public-relations exercise'.

I agree with Mrs Simpson Miller's statement then and I agree with the Opposition's position now. For the life of me, I cannot understand what drives rational persons like our prime minister to think differently inside and outside Jamaica House.

At the signing ceremony, Mr Zacca reportedly said: "We need to break out of the tradition where we provide tacit, and sometimes public, support to our colleagues even when we know they are in the wrong. If any anyone chooses to violate the principles and undertakings in this partnership, we must be prepared to publicly criticise and reject their actions."

To be fair to Mr Zacca, he has been quite strident in his second term as PSOJ president, a far cry from previous presidents, including his first foray on the job. Based on his public utterances at the signing, we expect Mr Zacca to start asking the prime minister some tough questions regarding her stewardship.

COOPER SYNDROME

Former United States ambassador to Jamaica, Gary Cooper, once remarked that in his home state, persons are congratulated on the successful completion of a major task or the achievement of a major objective. In Jamaica, however, he noted that the largest cheers and congratulatory remarks are made whenever there is an announcement of a major task to be undertaken or the establishment of an objective to be pursued.

The goodly Mr Cooper was not very much liked in Jamaica because of these and other comments made, and there were very few tears shed on his departure. This 'Cooper Syndrome' has continued since his departure, and the establishment or announcement of partnerships, committees, programmes, and memoranda of understanding have always been greeted with great acclaim.

The social partnership fits squarely in this syndrome, with much accompanying congratulations, yet having achieved absolutely nothing to date.

We have had numerous similar partnerships over the years. However, they have rarely amounted to anything. We can recall the discussions following the 1999 gas riots when the price of fuel was a quarter of where it is today. We can recall the various memoranda of understanding between Government and unions representing public-sector workers, the latest being this year's wage freeze. With devaluation hot on its heels, workers' wages have been substantially reduced. It is indeed strange that we heard no complaints from Mr Goodleigh on this matter.

In his maiden Budget presentation as finance minister, Dr Peter Phillips, in June 2012, promised a "new and binding covenant for growth and competitiveness". Eighteen months into the post, we have seen neither growth nor improvement in competitiveness. In fact, following a one per cent gross domestic product growth in 2011, we have had six consecutive quarters of little or no growth, with hardly any improved prospects over the short term. Has this been because of a lack of a social partnership? I doubt it.

FIX PARLIAMENT

The Jamaica Constitution recognises only one partnership - our Parliament. Section 49, Subsection (1) states that (1) subject to the provisions of this Constitution, Parliament may make laws for the peace, order and good government of Jamaica. The Parliament, in both the Lower and Upper House, is designed as a social partnership between those representing the governing party and those representing the Opposition. Instead of representing their constituents, our MPs represent their respective political parties in Parliament, thereby rendering the partnership ineffective.

However, if the parliamentary system is not working, we must fix it! Let us not get a parallel system to plaster over the failures of the original one.

Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition has a vital role to play in achieving peace, order and good government. With its majority, the governing party can always have its way in Parliament (except for those issues needing two-thirds majority to pass). It is very important, therefore, that the Opposition hold the governing party accountable and, from time to time, warn the general public when the country may be headed in the wrong direction, always indicating how they would do a better job.

The Opposition must avoid being caught in a trap where it supports the governing party at every step simply in the name of consensus. Hence, it should heed Mrs Simpson Miller's own words while in Opposition: focus on its role in Parliament and stay away from the social partnership.

Mrs Simpson Miller has another three and a half years in this, and if we are to believe many political commentators, her last term at the helm of her party. Rather than searching for a major legacy project or depending on social partners to bail her out, she needs to positively impact national socio-economic performance by being truly transformational (not simply what she described in her Budget speech ad nauseam) and by leading a rebirth of the Cabinet and Government.

Only a purpose-driven and strategy-focused government, equally serving all citizens, will set Jamaica on the right course to becoming the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business.

Robert Wynter is managing director of Strategic Alignment Limited, which facilitates organisational transformation and leadership development. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and rob.wyn@hotmail.com.