WITH JAMAICA facing the possibility of massive job cuts, trade unionists and employers are poised for an unprecedented level of cooperation in an attempt to minimise the impact.

Among the options to be considered by trade unionists and employers when they meet at the Labour Ministry on Tuesday are the staggering of work hours, having persons work on alternate days, and temporary salary cuts for some categories of employees.

For now, neither trade unionists nor employers are saying which option they would prefer, but it appears a combination of these might be implemented to prevent hundreds, or possibly thousands, of Jamaicans from losing their jobs.

"We are willing to look at all the options and have already agreed on measures with some companies, which have staggered hours or rotated staff," Lambert Brown, president of the University and Allied Workers' Union, told The Sunday Gleaner.

Tight-lipped on salary cuts

However, Brown would not say if his union would be open to a proposal for a cut in salaries.

"If I was to say that publicly, every employer would be running to my door asking for a reduction in salaries. We need to look at the challenges and what are the options going forward," Brown declared.

Kavan Gayle, president of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), was more forthcoming as he made it clear that his union would be willing to consider the salary-cut option, but with strict conditions.

"Anybody who is going to come to us with that has to bring justification to show that they are having problems because one of the things that we expect to happen out of this is that some people are going to exploit it and seek the opportunity to get free credit," Gayle said.

"Anything that comes to us should benefit the worker and the organisation; it should not benefit the company alone," the BITU president added.

Needs united approach

That is a position shared by president of the Jamaica Employers' Federation, Wayne Chen, who says the economic meltdown needs a united approach.

For Chen, it is time the country resurrect a social partnership.

"I think what this (meltdown) really highlights at this time is that we must move quickly towards a social partnership where the Government, the private sector and labour have to look at creative ways to deal with this crisis," Chen added.

Chen's proposal echoes the views of the trade union leaders, including Gayle, who accept that if something is not done, many of his union members could lose their jobs.

"Based on the challenge that we are facing, we have to have some sort of a social partnership and this crisis might be the catalyst towards that," Gayle argued.

Died in the womb

That is an option which was first put on the table in the late 1990s, but it died while still in the womb.

Following the financial meltdown of the 1990s and the subsequent economic woes, a similar call was made for what was dubbed a 'Partnership for Progress'.

Initially, the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) responded favourably to this initiative and released a paper dubbed 'Towards a New Vision for Jamaica's Socio-Political Survival and Economic Growth', but later backed out of the deal.

"A social partnership can work this time around," says JCTU vice-president Danny Roberts.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com