No squalor for PM/MPs
WE DO not operate on facts or reality. Rather we act upon our perception of what is. Elected officials in a democracy are particularly vulnerable, because whatever their spin doctors and public relations agents may or may not do, or whatever data may or may not show; as long as the electorate has a particular view, then that will instruct what they do where the polls are due.
Years ago, former minister/member of parliament, Mike Henry, declared, “I’ve never been accustomed to living in squalor!”
In human resource development and industrial relations, which really are microcosms of what society is, there is a constant process of negotiation and collective bargaining. The pure science behind good labour-management relations is that workers who feel like their bosses care for them, and are in the mud with them, give high levels of productivity. Trust is critical. If the subordinates think that the leaders or bosses are being unfair and disingenuous; then it is downhill all the way.
In the last Don Anderson polls, the popularity rating of the Government, prime minister and leader of Opposition was wrestling all below 30 per cent.
Let this sink in; almost three-fourths of all Jamaicans think negatively of our political leaders. Jamaican citizens think very little of their performance regarding crime, education and overall management of the country and economy.
Still riding a wave from the way in which we handled the COVID-19 pandemic, health minister Christopher Tufton still enjoys reasonable popularity.
There is little to challenge the numbers relating to tourism. This bright spark, which consistently produces good figures, is not enough for the Jamaican people to give the incumbent government a thumbs up.
DISQUIET
Despite a decent increase in the national minimum wage, there is lot of disquiet regarding labour and social security. Notwithstanding the effort of the factfinding mission to North America, the Jamaican people are not convinced that all is well among workers in the overseas employment programme.
Moreover, the largely unsettled matter of the status of security workers and their purportedly signing years of service and entitlement are typical of the developments in labour governance since independence which have cost incumbents major electoral points, if not the election themselves.
It Is also certainly not helpful that there is a belief among 80 per cent of the population, that politicians and elected ones in particular, are corrupt.
We know that the corruption perception index (CPI) is not a measure of actual dishonesty and venality in the society. For this reason, my consistent point has been that it is not an accurate measure. However, it doesn’t matter. We act upon what we believe; not what is.
As it stands now, most Jamaicans believe that the Jamaican government is corrupt, underperforms and undeserving of a pay increase.
Only themselves can be blamed for that. It thus takes a very brave government to award itself mind-boggling increases, after it has pressured the public sector to accept deals which still cause discomfort among the police, teachers and scores of other public servants.
Be not mistaken, my own position has consistently been that public sector employees must be amply remunerated. Furthermore, it makes absolutely no sense that the minister of finance is paid less than the commissioner of customs or that the minister of national security earns lower than the commissioner of police.
If we follow the approach of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew, paying top government officials competitive rates, in order to attract and keep the best minds, is an excellent idea.
Of course, this raises questions about the competences of the ministers themselves who, unlike public servants, do not have metrics of performance assessments. Also, clearly, there are several ministers who would get ‘F’ even if they saw the examination paper in advance.
MORE GUTS
Moreover, Lee had more guts and nuts than any of our current leaders by putting his foot down hard on corruption, sending many of his close peers to the workhouse.
Singapore’s CPI is 88 compared to our measly 44.
Given the poor perceived performance and corruption, the Jamaican people are not buying the argument that the well-overdue pay adjustment is deserved. Moreover, these heads of government rates dwarf those of our CARICOM counterparts, The Bahamas and Trinidad, both of whom are doing far better than us, with our mangy gross domestic product per capita of US$5,000, compared to their US$33,000 and US$16,000, respectively. With this new package, our prime minister gets J$25 million while Bahamas’ cops J$17 million and Trinidad’s J$14 million.
For the public sector electorate, this is a blue pill that sticks to their throat.
Yet, perhaps there is a method in the madness. The opposition was sucker punched, with its leader, who is perhaps the least needy of such an increase, also benefiting from the prime quarters of the hog.
Although it has publicly disavowed the increases, I might have missed the memo, which says it won’t take the money. Therefore, it might just not be able to benefit politically. Michael Manley might have acted differently.
Still, history and sociology have shown that being seen as anti-worker and pro-corruption are powerful determinants of losses in elections and the ruling party is treading a thin tightrope.
Either way, in a worse-case scenario, if it loses the next election, the entire crew will have carted off a ‘decent change’.
Trust me, I recall some years ago, when a large factory was reportedly pushed to the brink by a senior trade unionist, who was ‘squeezing blood out of stone’.
His answer to me was that he wanted the best deal for his workers, knowing fully well that the continued opening of the production lines was not guaranteed.
Let’s watch the process.
■ Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.