Ursulla RamdayalPresident of the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA) Wayne Jones has assumed the Presidency of the Caribbean Public Services Association (CPSA), taking over from Head of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), Patrick Yarde.According to the system used by the regional body, the presidency is rotated on an annual basis in alphabetical order, thus it is Jamaica’s turn to take up the mantle.Jones has been a trade union activist in Jamaica and the Caribbean for 25 years, beginning while he was a young Customs Officer. His duties as a trade unionist took him around the world and in 2001 he was appointed to his current position in the JCSA. He also served on other union bodies. Jones also holds the position of titular representative of Public Services International until his tenure ends in 2012. This position he also took over from Yarde, but by election and not automatically.Looking at the tasks that lie ahead, Jones mused that it is always difficult to take on a regional task where things have to be co-ordinated almost remotely and he paid tribute to Yarde’s tenure in this respect.Wayne Jones – President, CPSAJones recognises that there are global issues that have to be addressed, as well as internal administrative issues. There is also the question of the relationship between regional public sector unions and their Governments.“They are characterised by too many discussions and fall outs,” said Jones pointing out that on the Guyana scene, there are some rather troubling trends and the relationship is not productive.“This is something to be addressed not only in Guyana but throughout the Caribbean,” he stated.Explaining that public sector workers are the persons who shape policies and advises policy makers, Jones emphasised that they are the ones who must implement them. “There is an urgent need for a synergy between the public sector workers and their respective political directorates in the region and that needs to come through the union. It is the union who is the voice and the representation of the workers. And that’s what collective bargaining is all about,” the trade unionist stated.Looking ahead at the legacy that the Caribbean civilisation would leave behind, Jones feels that it is time unions get involved in regional issues and decide what that legacy should be. Bickering and fighting among trade unions and Caribbean nations need to be addressed, and while it cannot be done all in one year, Jones feels that the start can be made.“We have to revisit our mandate. Industrial relations are a big issue,” he pointed out, slamming the fact that in the Caribbean,China Jerseys Cheap, a lot of industrial relations issues are settled in the court. Explaining that industrial relations were initially premised on volunteerism, Jones added that good faith and a given word was the bond, and compromises were made.“But now governments are taking actions that have to be challenged, because of the expectations of society, we are not able to apply old strategies, but we are applying more intellect to our work. Governments are now seeing this as that we are weak,” Jones said.Pointing out that the life of the Guyana Public Service Commission expired last month, and there are no current public plans for reappointments, Jones said that this is happening around the regions as well. “The Public Service Commission was established as insulation between the bureaucracy and the political directorate, to ensure that a minister could not do what he or she wanted with a civil servant,’ Jones stated, adding that there is a crying need for this to be placed firmly back on the agenda, “and we intend to do that by individual discussion with the governments and raising it to the Caricom level also,” he said.With his work set out for him, is it possible that Jones can heal the rift of trade unionism in Guyana?Of this Jones says, “I intend to continue dialogue which has started. I intend to have discussions with the CCI. It is haemorrhaging. While I don’t have enough information, I am aware of enough to know it has to be done.”On the bauxite workers’ issue, Jones observes the similarities between Guyana’s and Jamaica’s which has ground to a halt. But he warns that trade unions cannot be oblivious to other issues,” because they are workers issues and we are trade unions,” he added.The question of how to bridge the gap between the practices of different governments and bringing everybody together is a challenge that lies ahead, and the major part of this, is to transpose the good ones into others. Past president of the CPSA says the new president has the ability to do this, though it is not an easy task.
