Region needs to act together to overcome economic challenges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

APRIL 1, 2009

GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS REQUIRES CONCERTED ACTION OF INTENSITY...PM GOLDING URGES.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding says the global financial crisis which confronts the region requires concerted action of an intensity that the region has never been called upon before to demonstrate.

The Prime Minister has called for structural reform programmes , not imposed by the International Monetary Fund  but things that have to be done  because they are necessary for the region's survival. In developing those programmes, Mr. Golding said governments have to demonstrate the political will as they have to take tough decisions , to be open and frank with the people, the private sector,  and the trade unions.

Mr. Golding was addressing this morning's (April 1)   opening ceremony of a  two-day  International Labour Organisation Tripartite Caribbean Conference on the global financial crisis, at the Pegasus hotel in Kingston.

Mr. Golding said that  Caribbean economies are reeling from the effects of the global tsunami. He said the information which he  received yesterday on the  gross domestic product for Jamaica last year,  showed   negative growth. He said that like every other country in the region, Jamaica is witnessing job losses and business closures as well as an erosion of the gains we have made in recent years in reducing the level of poverty significantly.

Mr. Golding said the world response so far to the crisis has been less  than commanding as every country seems to be pre-occupied with its own stimulus packages.  He said the G20 meeting which convenes tomorrow in London, is being held amidst uncertainty.

‘Developing countries like ours will not be represented at the meeting  in London tomorrow and are actually out in the streets sharing the same space and purpose as those who have gathered with their placards and leading the process. The global crisis has brought into sharp focus, the inequalities in the global economic structures. I believe those inequalities are in themselves major contributing factors to the crisis', the Prime Minister said.

Mr. Golding said this new globalization paradigm cannot be turned back. ‘The economic mess that we are in today is not to be blamed on the global market but the failure to recognize that the global market like any other market,  cannot regulate itself', he warned.

Minister of Labour and Social Security,  Pearnel Charles whose Ministry is one of the sponsors of the conference,  said the current situation is one that needs strong policies and strong  dialogue . He expressed the hoped that at the end of the conference, solutions would be found to keep workers on the job. ‘In this changing world it is important to focus on retraining and retooling the workers, so that they could take advantage of the available opportunities', Mr. Charles said.

The two day conference is aimed at providing a forum for the exchange of views and information and to explore practical measures for overcoming the social and labour consequences of the global financial crisis through tripartite consultations and negotiations. The theme of the conference is ‘Promoting Human prosperity beyond the global financial crisis: seeking sustainable solutions through social dialogue'.