Airport strike off
Air traffic controllers who stayed off the job since Wednesday in protest against long work hours and to show their dissatisfaction with the management are expected to resume duties today following a meeting at the Ministry of Labour yesterday.
Labour Minister Pearnel Charles told the Observer yesterday that an agreement was brokered for the workers to return to work.
Charles said although the air traffic controllers promised to return to work yesterday, full operation is not expected until some time today.
“The agreement when the meeting finished is that there would be resumption. However, they did express some concern that there would not be full resumption today,” Charles said.
“They said not everybody will be able to get onboard today (yesterday), but enough persons will be onboard so there will be no disruption of air traffic at either Norman Manley International Airport or Sangster International,” he added.
Up to late yesterday evening, Charles said an industrial relations team from the ministry was still locked in a meeting with a team of workers to further iron out the dispute.
“I have asked that they put all the items of dispute in writing and that we will continue to discuss them and arrive at a mutually accepted point,” Charles said.
The labour minister said he has also advised the workers that if the Ministry of Labour cannot arrive at a position acceptable to their party, the matter would be referred to the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) for settlement.
“We are now meeting with the industrial relations section of the Ministry of Labour and we expect to continue that meeting as long as it takes to arrive at an acceptable point,” he explained.
In relation to the workers’ contention that they were dissatisfied with one of their supervisors, Charles said that will also have to be addressed around the bargaining table.
“We can’t discuss that in a public meeting, but if there is reason for. disquiet, then we will also examine that, but there is also similar disquiet from the management towards the behaviour of some of the workers and these must be addressed,” he said.
Yesterday, Transport Minister Mike Henry expressed his intention to meet with air traffic controllers to identify a solution to their concerns.
Henry told the Observer that he was first made aware, on Tuesday evening, that the air traffic controllers were dissatisfied about the management’s treatment of overtime and shift issues.
He said he advised the workers to meet with the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority chairman Y P Seaton to sort out the matter.