HOPE is the backup plan
Dear Editor,
The illegal, unconscionable, and politically motivated strike at the National Water Commission (NWC) has brought to fore one of the most intractable problems besetting the country — the willy-nilly striking of essential workers.
In 2022, it is beyond unconscionable that one group of workers can hold the country hostage because they believe they shouldn’t go to work. It should not be happening at all.
It is in this vein that I propose the Government use the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) programme to create a secondary line of defence to keep this country going in the event of future strike action like that which is now underway by NWC workers.
Through HOPE, at least 700 to 1,000 youngsters can be trained to operate NWC systems. They would be called to serve in the event of disruptions as it is very important that we have a secondary system that we can rely on.
It’s not only strikes that we have to think about. We are in an era where things are becoming much more unstable. We need a group of people similar to the National Guard in the US to take charge of critical infrastructure across the country in the event those in charge are incapable, for whatever reason, of carrying out their assigned functions. We cannot continue to be held at ransom by disgruntled individuals, then shake it off like a nine-day wonder. Enough is enough!
Jamaica has many problems, one of which is heartlessness and selfishness. It’s always about what the individual or group wants, and never about what is in the best interest of the country. This level of selfishness permeates all levels of society and continues to cause irreparable harm to this nation. It is continually played out in the public sector with serious consequences. This behaviour needs to stop.
Hotels, especially, that bring in the money needed to fund the back pay or salary increase for these same striking workers are now being severely affected. Did they think about that? No, of course they didn’t. That’s what happens when selfishness takes over. It creates a situation of utter chaos.
The staff on strike at NWC are amongst the laziest set of people within the public sector. We have all seen the many broken pipes wasting water for weeks on end without being fixed. You start to wonder if we are paying them to be even more lazy.
The time has come for the Government to institute a second line of defence to keep critical installations going in times of crisis. The HOPE programme paired with the Jamaica Defence Force’s core of engineers can be that second line of defence.
If we had this backup in place, the country would not be in the state it is now. The minute the staff walked off the job the replacements would have moved in and restarted the entire system, and we would have water flowing in our pipes right now.
Fabian Lewis
tyronelewis272@gmail.com