Opposition Leader Dr. Peter Phillips - file photo
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Dr. Peter Phillips
The Parliamentary Opposition is again bashing the government for not taking a stronger stance against corruption.
Opposition Leader Dr. Peter Phillips said recent indicators by international organisations show that corruption is worsening in Jamaica.
"In three years, two ministers of government have resigned or been fired under a cloud of public allegations about corruption; a third has been named for serious breaches by the former Contractor General in a matter yet to be fully explored by the parliament; and to cap it all, for the first time in our history since parliamentary integrity reports have been required, a sitting Prime Minister has been named persistently for not abiding by the requirements of the law," he lamented.
He called for Jamaicans to take a stand against corruption "to ensure that integrity in public life is not pushed to the sidelines, but recognised as the cornerstone of Jamaica's reputation in the international community."
He urged the country not to take likely recent comments by diplomatic representatives about their expectations from Jamaica's National Integrity Commission and other similar agencies "charged to protect the architecture of good governance in Jamaica."
Contract workers
Dr. Phillips, who was speaking Thursday afternoon at a Rotary Club of Kingston meeting, also raised concern about the growing trend of replacing full time employees with contract workers.
He said while the trend had previously been limited to the security sector, affecting guards, it has now become widespread, especially in the tourism and manufacturing industries.
"The consequence of this is that these workers are being denied all the benefits that were won for the workers by the trade union movements over the years; they are without pension rights for the most part and are going to constitute a source of great difficulty for the country as the labour force ages," Dr. Phillips reasoned.
He added that many of these contract workers who already get limited benefits are also being paid below the minimum wage.
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