President of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) Senator Kavan Gayle said last night that the death of veteran trade unionist Lloyd Goodleigh is a serious blow for the Labour Market Reform Commission (LMRC).

“We had been working with him to get the commission going as we would all wish following a number of delays. Therefore, his passing is going to be a serious blow for us and the initiative,” Senator Gayle told the

Jamaica Observer.

Goodleigh’s death yesterday morning at Andrews Memorial Hospital in Kingston, where he had been receiving treatment after being transferred there from Hargreaves Hospital in Mandeville, was greeted with profound regret right across the political spectrum.

The 76-year-old was president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions and national co-ordinator of the Labour Market Reform Commission Secretariat at the time of his death. He previously led the Caribbean Congress of Labour.

Born May 5, 1939, Goodleigh was the longest-serving general secretary of the National Workers’ Union (NWU), and was one of five young trade unionists recruited by former NWU president and Prime Minister Michael Manley, and another former president, Carlyle Dunkley, in 1968. The quintet also included former NWU President Vincent Morrison, Lascelles Perry, Wesley Clayton, and Bob Purkiss.

Goodleigh is survived by his wife Yvette, several sons and one daughter, Elizabeth.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, herself a former labour minister, noted that up to the time of his passing, Goodleigh was “an integral part” of the initiative to transform labour productivity. She also noted that he was an active member of the National Partnership for Jamaica Council, and on December 3, submitted an inspiring and encouraging update on the work of the Labour Market Reform Commission.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of this outstanding Jamaican. He constantly and unequivocally articulated a vision that placed education, training, and improved worker productivity and engagement as a central pillar of national development and economic growth,” the prime minister said.

Opposition Leader Andrew Holness, in his reaction, said that with Goodleigh’s passing, Jamaica has lost a devout champion and stalwart of the trade union movement.

“Let me, on behalf of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party, and those who worked closely with him over the years, extend heartfelt sympathies to his family, friends and colleagues in this their hour of bereavement,” Holness said.

Minister of Labour and Social Security Dr Fenton Ferguson also expressed his sympathies, recalling Goodleigh as “a brilliant, erudite, and articulate professional” and a “a tireless advocate for the labouring class in the Caribbean and Jamaica, in particular”.

Morrison, now president of the Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees, recalled starting out with Goodleigh as a young recruit for the NWU in 1968. He pointed out that Goodleigh was specifically assigned to the union’s Research and Publicity unit before becoming general secretary in the 1980s.

Morrison recalled that Goodleigh, a graduate of Calabar High School, was a roommate of American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, and helped to inspire the American’s interest in the South African apartheid issue.

Goodleigh was also a leading track athlete at Boys’ Champs between 1955 and 1958. He won both the Class One 440 and 880 yards events in 1957 and 1958, when Calabar won the track and field championships.