Perhaps with the intention of facilitating the call by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. David Granger, for the establishment of a social contract in Guyana, last week I participated in a symposium organised by the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) on the nature and possibilities of constructing such a contract in Guyana.
The GTUC envisaged an arrangement based upon the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 144 concerning Tripartite Consultations passed in 1976 to promote the implementation of international labour standards and encourage national consensus with regard to its work. The agreement is to be negotiated between the parties, but from the GTUC standpoint, the major objectives should be the realisation of a stable rate of exchange; the maintenance of a stable industrial climate; the restructuring of the economy; the reduction of social disparities through increased employment; national commitment to increased productivity; the reduction of unemployment levels; achieving a balance between prices and incomes; consolidation of the process of tripartite consultation, and continually reducing crime levels.
On the face of it, it is difficult to fault these kinds of cooperative arrangements consisting of the major social partners, but it is best to