Headlines:
| JUTC workers demanding payments after being sent home |
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| Thursday, 26 June 2008 | |
Unrest is again
simmering among workers at the Spanish Town Depot of the Jamaica Urban Transit
Company (JUTC) in St. Catherine.The workers said they were told Thursday morning by the Depot manager that their positions were being made redundant with immediate effect and that they should go home and await further instructions. They were adamant that they would not leave the job until they received outstanding monies or a written indication as to when payments would be made. The workers complain that they are yet to receive up to 9-months worth of pension payments and a commitment about payment of other statutory deductions that were outstanding. They argued that they were being dismissed a day before a scheduled meeting between their union representatives and the management of the bus company. The matter of the outstanding deductions and redundancy payments was expected to have been sorted out at that meeting. Redundancy monies will be paid However, Spokesman for the Ministry of Transport Reginald Allen said the agreement with the unions was for the workers to be paid their redundancy monies 30 days after June 30th. Mr. Allen said the JUTC is free to send home workers before the agreed date but offered the assurance that they would not lose any salary or benefits due to them as they would still be on the payroll. "They will be paid up to June 30th," he said, Mr. Allen said the JUTC's management and the unions are working out how to clear the backlog of statutory deductions for the workers, however, while payments are being made, it will take some time to catch up. In early June, scores of employees of the state-owned bus company went on strike to protest against the company's plan to lay off 236 bus cleaners, drivers and conductors. After negotiations between unions and management, it was agreed that more than 400 workers would be made redundant at the cash strapped bus company. |