Senator the Hon. Chester Humphrey
President General
T.A.W.U
Green Street
St. George'

Dear Sir,

Re: In the matter of an industrial dispute between TAWU/CCC and in the matter of the Minister for Labour

With respect to your letter of the September 29th please be advised that as the Prime Minister of this country I share your concerns over the need for a stable, peaceful industrial relations climate after the onslaught of two hurricanes in less than one year.
As you are aware throughout the tenure of the NNP, I have worked assiduously to promote and maintain peace and stability. I know that this is fundamental to economic growth and development. This has always been my party's and government's mandate.

I have learnt of the initiatives of the T.U.C. and the willingness of the Minister of Labour to meet with your union. This meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, October 5th, 2005 at the Ministry of Education Conference Room at 9 a.m. I trust that by now you would have been apprised of this decision by the T.U.C. delegation.

This agreement by the Minister and the T.U.C. is in my view an excellent one and I hope that your union would avail itself of this opportunity if you are really interested in resolving the impasse as stated in your letter.

It is also my considered opinion that labour matters be conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect bearing in mind that we are the leaders of our country and our conduct must at all times reflect this.

As Prime Minister, I am very concerned that before I received your correspondence, it was already disclosed to the media. This again brings forth the issue stated in the previous paragraph relating to respect for authority and what is deemed to be decent behaviour.

I look forward to a speedy resolution to this matter.

Respectfully,

Keith C. Mitchell
Prime Minister