Labour Market Forum 2010 - Planning Institute of Jamaica

Hence, while probably a moral and needs case can be made
for the wage demands being made by public sector workers,
public sector workers and unions must appreciate their
important role in the country’s delicate fiscal balancing act
and economic reform efforts.
Wage demands that push
inflation, worsen public sector debt, or compromise
government’s ability to improve the social, economic and
business environment at the macro level will erode the nation’s
economic and social credibility, raise its risk premium and cost
of capital and doing business, and quickly erode even the
wage gains the workers and unions had bargained hard for.
The labour market must play its role in providing the flexibility
that is required for the productive sector to make use of the
opportunities that now abound, and maximize its efficiency.
This will lead to increased job security and increased wages in
the labour market for the long term.
As the workers’ representatives, the trade unions will have an
essential role to play in this effort. Jamaica has a creditable
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