Fast Track Land to Bauxite Workers – PM Golding

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, has said that he is prepared to arrange a special task force to deal with the sale and issue of titles for non-bauxite lands to bauxite workers.
He was speaking with union heads at a recent meeting at Jamaica House, to discuss how to reduce the impact of a downturn in the bauxite industry on the workers.
The Prime Minister noted that the entire country was currently under the Land Administration and Management Programme (LAMP) and that this would expedite the preparation of land titles.
The delegates assured the Prime Minister that many bauxite workers had already started farming and were interested in continuing. Many were also awaiting the purchase of mined-out and non-bauxite lands for housing.
The Prime Minister commended the unions for the efforts they have made to hold discussions with bauxite industry workers and to prepare them for the challenges ahead. He stressed that this issue is not about worker productivity. “It has nothing to do with the productivity of the workers.
Our bauxite and alumina workers are among the most efficient workers in Jamaica and I would imagine that they could hold their own in any alumina plant in the world.”
The meeting was attended by the heads of the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU), the National Workers Union (NWU), and the Union of Technical Administrative and Supervisory Personnel (UTASP) and the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU).