Ready to work
Published:Wednesday | April 13, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Gov't wants return to partnership talks, but PNP wary
Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter
NINE MONTHS after the social-partnership talks involving the Government, Opposition, private sector and unions stalled, the administration is indicating that it is ready to go back to the table.
The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce on Monday encouraged the Government and Opposition to engage in dialogue to address issues of national importance, including the vexing tax on fuel.
However, the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) said yesterday it has serious reservations about sitting at the table with the Government at this time.
Chairman of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Mike Henry, told The Gleaner yesterday that Government was taking steps to continue the Partnership for Progress talks.
"The Government and the JLP are always ready to work in partnership with everyone," Henry said.
However, the JLP chairman chided senior PNP spokespersons for comments made at a press conference yesterday.
The PNP warned at the media briefing that it had postponed protest action to give Jamaicans a chance to deliberate on the rollback in the ad valorem tax on fuel. It warned that action could be taken if the administration did not address critical tax issues in the new Budget.
pnp railroading
According to Henry, the Opposition was aware that the administration was discussing an approach to cushion gas prices.
He also said the PNP was seeking to railroad the Government's approach that would lead to growth in the economy.
" ... Obviously it would not be in their favour for us to be successful, as we have been holding the balance of the wheel," Henry added.
He suggested the administration would be willing to hold talks with the private sector and unions if the Opposition refused to come to the table.
But at the press conference staged yesterday by the PNP at its Old Hope Road, St Andrew, headquarters, the party's general secretary, Peter Bunting, said the Opposition found it difficult to trust the Golding administration.
"Any social-partnership talks have to be predicated on the basis of trust. We have no confidence that the Government has behaved towards the Opposition in a trustworthy way and we can't be hypocrites.
"We can't go and sit around a table in a social partnership forum when we believe that the purpose of it is to use us as window dressing."
However, he said the PNP has not ruled out the possibility of returning to the table.
"Until we see a genuine approach that we can trust, I don't think there is any point in wasting time around that table," Bunting insisted.
Partnership for Progress talks broke down last year after the Opposition accused the Government of stalling on the extradition request for then west Kingston strongman, Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.