The two-day strike by Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) drivers and conductresses ended yesterday after an agreement was reached to extend the effective date of the layoff of 250 workers from last Friday to

this Wednesday.

However, up to late yesterday, the unions were still insisting that June 11 was not the final effective date but was only temporary until a new date is agreed.

“The layoff no longer holds. It has been pushed back indefinitely,” said Danny Roberts, president of the Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE).

This was, however, denied by a senior JUTC official, who told the Sunday Observer that the agreement signed yesterday was for the state-owned company to pay the workers up to June 11 and not a day beyond, during which time they will not be allowed back at work.

He also said that the remainder of the 400 workers to be cut will be sent home by the end of the month, following further discussions at a meeting scheduled for this Wednesday with the unions.

The company’s management, and representatives of the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU) and UCASE spent most of yesterday deadlocked on the issue of whether the workers would be allowed to resume normal duties until the new effective date.

Transport and works communication manager Reginald Allen told the Sunday Observer that while the unions and management were able to reach an agreement that the effective date of the lay-offs would be adjusted and the workers receive salaries up to that point, the stalemate was over whether the workers would be allowed back at work until then.

“The unions wanted the workers to be physically back at work until the effective date and the company wants the workers to remain off the job,” Allen explained.

An official source told the Sunday Observer that the company was fearful of sabotage from the employees and as such did not want them back on the premises.

When contacted, the UAWU’s Clifton Grant said the workers “will not be required to report for work but they will be paid”. He, however, would not clarify if the workers would be allowed on the compound if they chose to return to work.

Grant said that while he was not totally satisfied with the agreement reached, it was the best situation that could be worked out at this time.

At this Wednesday’s meeting, four main concerns are to be addressed:

. the consideration of a redundancy package instead of a layoff;

. allowing for voluntary redundancy;

. not laying off union delegates; and

. the vexing issue of the company not paying over deductions to third parties.

Meanwhile, Roberts said they will also be sending a letter tomorrow to the JUTC board requesting that an interim president be put in place immediately, thus freeing up the board chairman, Douglas Chambers, to address policy issues and allow for the president to relate directly to the workers.

On Friday night, a meeting to resolve the strike ended abruptly when male workers allegedly threatened to shoot Chambers.

The meeting, which was being held at the Ministry of Labour in downtown Kingston, was eventually moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in New Kingston late into the night. However, that meeting also ended without an agreement being reached as the Sunday Observer was informed that Chambers insisted on a full resumption of work before further discussions could take place.

A second meeting led by Senator Dwight Nelson, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance, and junior labour minister Andrew Gallimore, yesterday finally got both parties to sign off on an agreement, after the recommendation was made for the matter to be sent to the Industrial Disputes Tribunal.

Meanwhile, commuters were yesterday forced to rely on the services of route taxis and minibuses which appeared to be benefiting significantly from the strike.

Commuters complained bitterly of being overcharged in some instances by minibus operators, some of whom were said to be charging as much as $100.

Allen said a limited number of buses were operating out of the Spanish Town and Portmore depots, however threat and aggression kept the Rockfort depot closed.

The company says it intends to lay off 400 workers as it moves to a cashless system which would see the buses being converted into single operator units.

According to the company, the decision was taken to go cashless because it is losing some $30 million monthly from fares collected and a cashless system would eliminate such heavy losses.