Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner WriterWHEN BRUCE Golding launches his campaign for the leadership of the Jamaica Labour Party in two days, there's likely to be a high profile given to members of the party's affiliate union, according to campaign sources.
One strong indicator of that intention is the appointment of Ruddy Spencer, acting President-General of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), as vice-chairman of Mr. Golding election campaign team.
"The BITU, as the premier trade union movement associated with the JLP, will play a much more important role in the councils of the Labour Party in terms of being formally and openly involved in the whole operation of the party," Dr. Horace Chang, campaign chairman, told The Sunday Gleaner.
The BITU/JLP relationship goes back to the very beginnings of the two organisations - the BITU, founded in 1938; and the JLP in 1943, by Alexander Bustamante.
That relationship had been de-emphasised of late, according to Dr. Chang, who suggested that "in recent years their (BITU leaders) role has not been as prominent, since Mr. (Hugh) Shearer took a lesser role in the party."
PROFILE OF UNION LOWERED
Senator Anthony Johnson, a long-standing member of the JLP and a noted historian, strongly disagrees, however, that the profile of the union was lowered during the 1980s under then-Prime Minister Edward Seaga's leadership, or in opposition.
"The three leading trade unionists in the party - the acting head of the BITU (Spencer), and two vice-presidents (Pearnel Charles and Dwight Nelson) are all on the Standing Committee and two of them are Members of Parliament, and the third, a member of the Senate. All three have critical roles within the party. They are at the heartbeat of operations. Furthermore, when we were in office in the 1980s, Mr. Shearer was Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Charles was the most popular minister and Cliff Stone was Minister of the Public Service," he argued.
This decision by most of the key leaders of the BITU to back Bruce Golding's candidacy for leader of the JLP is being seen as a blow to their colleague, Pearnel Charles, himself a vice- president of the union and who is also running to be the new JLP leader in November.
Mr. Charles, who joined the union in the 1960s, has declared that, if elected Prime Minister one day, he would seek to model his approach off that of the party's two labour giants, Bustamante and Shearer.
A CHALLENGE
"Capital has been reducing ownership in certain industries and putting workers at risk and I believe that a trade union leader would be responsive to capital and labour in a way to improve the working relationship compensation, pension, social security, the threat of globalisation - all of these would be seen as a challenge to a labour leader heading the political arm of the country", Mr. Charles told The Sunday Gleaner in a recent interview.
STRONG FAITH
Nevertheless, Dwight Nelson, a vice-president of the BITU, and an active member of Mr. Golding's campaign team, asserted that he and other members of the union had "a very strong faith in Mr. Golding's regard for labour and this is rooted in his approaches and dealings with the trade unions during his tenure as a minister of Government." According to Mr. Nelson, during the JLP administration of the 1980s, Hugh Shearer and Bruce Golding were "the only two ministers of Government who recognised and treated labour accordingly."
That statement ignores the claims of Mr. Charles, who was often polled as the most popular Government minister during the 1980s.
Helene Davis White, a vice-president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), described Mr. Charles' position as a difficult one. "Talking to some persons on the ground I don't believe he's going to get the support of his BITU colleagues. There are some people in the BITU who do not believe that Pearnel, when he was in government, gave the union and its cause much support," she reported.
As for Bruce Golding's promise of closer ties with labour, Mrs. Davis White described this as a welcome move, in light of the pressing challenges of globalisation.
GUARDIANS OF DEMOCRACY
"Initially we were seen to be guardians of democracy and we did ourselves a disservice when we focused on bargaining rights issues almost to the exclusion of social issues. We now have to take on the issues of globalisation, internationally, and forge linkages with our international partners. I think Mr. Golding does not have to be involved in the labour movement to support the cause and if he's able to assure workers that he understands the issues and support many of their issues, he will get a lot of support," she concluded.
STRATEGY VERY APPROPRIATE
Senator Johnson has also given his support to Mr. Golding's reported strategy, describing it as "very appropriate to have this idea to strengthen the links with the unions because one needs to have a focus on working class issues, with the union being a good starting point."
As for Pearnel Charles, his union colleague Dwight Nelson has described him as "a good man, whose aspirations for any other appropriate position in the party or in a future Government, I would readily support."
