Contingency plans need to be put in place

THE EDITOR, Madam:

WHY DOES the Government, habitually and traditionally, wait until worst comes, which in turn fuels a crisis? Where are the contingency plans that if, for instance, essential public-sector workers strike and particularly in contravention of the 72 hours notice-before-striking rules. Why are the contingency plans not swiftly activated in order to stop situations from reaching crisis proportions?

The latter of course took place recently when the country was deprived of water supply and when many scheduled flights into and out of Jamaica had to be cancelled. As a result, many negatives have emerged, including school closures and tourists scheduled to visit the island being extremely inconvenienced.

Going forward, the Government must construct strong contingency measures so that when necessary, they can be employed in a timely fashion to offset the kinds of crises that recently emerged.

If and when such measures become necessary and are activated then besides the latter being prevented, meetings can be held – in a less frenzied and potentially volatile fashion – between workers’ unions and the Government, in order to reach better and more thoughtful mutually accepted agreements.

The Government needs to use whatever resources are necessary in order to put those contingency plans and safeguards in place as soon as possible.

RUDOLPH BROWN/ PHOTOGRAPHER Travellers were left stranded after flights were cancelled at the Norman Manley International Airport because of the industrial action taken by air traffic controllers.