St. George's, February 24, 2009 (GIS): Trade Union representative in the Senate, Chester Humphrey, has repeated a call for what he describes as a "focal group'' on the economy. The Senator, who is also president of the Technical and Allied Workers Union, said the group is urgently needed to come up with a price and wage protocol to deal with the effects of the global economic crisis on Grenada. "I repeat the call for a meeting because this is a deepening crisis,'' Senator Humphrey told a sitting of the Upper House of Parliament. Mr. Humphrey said that since making the initial appeal for the formation of the focal group, he is yet to get a sense that it is being treated as a matter of urgency. He said that he has already spoken with a number of "marshals of business,'' and claimed they are ready to meet with other economic stakeholders. Mr. Humphrey warned of potential "industrial problems,'' if due and expeditious attention is not given to the economy and the importance of establishing a price and wage protocol. "We have dozens of workers going home,'' he said. "We need this focal group to meet urgently and I can't stress this anymore. If we cannot get a focal group and the emergence of a policy on how we're going to deal with this crisis, then I believe we are going to have a lot of industrial problems. This has to be treated urgently and it has to be a focal group.'' Apart from officials of the private sector, Senator Humphrey has also suggested that the group should comprise representatives of the labour movement, and it should meet under the auspices of a senior government minister. The Senator made reference to Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of Commerce, who has announced measures to lessen the cost of certain food items, such as sugar, rice, flour and milk, in the neighbouring twin-island republic. Leader of Government business in the Senate, George Prime, said he agreed with the recommendation by Mr. Humphrey for a "focal' group'' on the economy. From the Government Information Service INSIDE GRENADA NEWS