The Editor, Sir:

Believe it or not, there is more than a spurious link between the existence of a Minimum Wage Act and the recent calls from some quarters to validate, constitutionally, the 'right to strike'. Neither is of benefit to the Jamaican worker in the context of a globalised economic system characterised by the free movement of capital and labour.

The Minimum Wage Act erodes the bargaining power and, therefore, limits the earning power of the average worker and reduces the 'labour contract' to ammunition for employers, most of whom use the stipulated minimum wage as a pay-scale guide. In the absence of a stipulated minimum wage, the worker will have the freedom to negotiate based on his skills and the demand for them. That's more power to the worker.

Reactionary response

Recent calls to constitutionally validate strike action is a reactionary response to the obvious limitations of organised labour to negotiate for 'better salaries and improved working conditions' in the context of the Minimum Wage Act and other salary caps.

Repeal the Minimum Wage Act and give the power to the workers to negotiate based on market demand for their skills. Labour contracts should be between the worker and employer, with oversight by the relevant bodies. Labour contracts are legally binding documents with stipulated conditions and set penalties for breaches. There is, therefore, no need to validate 'strike actions'constitutionally, as the right to act in cases of breach by any party to a contract is the foundation of the modern justice system and an acknowledged part of any legally binding contract.

Reduce the competitiveness

In the present climate of international economic uncertainty, any increase in the minimum wage would be a move against labour. Increasing the minimum wage at this time would unnecessarily reduce the competitiveness of Jamaican labour, forcing capital to areas with more competitive labour costs. The same would occur if the Government pursues a policy to constitutionallyvalidate workers' strikes.

Repeal the Minimum Wage Act and give the power to the worker, and, of course, the derelicts of the capital/labour dialectic. Trade unions will be against such a move, as well as corrupt and inefficient capitalists who rely on consistently depressed wages as the primary means of accumulating supernormal profits.

I am, etc.,

PHILLIP CHAMBERS

phillipdcchambers@yahoo.com