KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE) says it has withdrawn the 72-hour strike notice it issued on the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) last Friday after it was summoned to a meeting with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security on Monday.

UCASE issued the strike notice following what it said was a breakdown in wage and fringe benefits negotiations with the JPS.

In a statement on Friday, UCASE said the notice would take effect as of 4:30 pm Friday, April 26, and expire on 4:30 pm on Monday.

However, UCASE told OBSERVER ONLINE a short while ago that the notice was withdrawn ahead of the Monday meeting where an improved offer was made by the JPS on some of the items.

The union said another meeting should be held in short order to discuss the rest of the items.

In the meantime, UCASE is refuting several claims made by the JPS ahead of its strike notice over the weekend.

The JPS refuted claims made by the union that there has been a breakdown in negotiations, adding that its last meeting with the union was on April 10, where it made a number of proposals.

Subsequent to that, the JPS said the leadership of UCASE agreed to a scheduled meeting for Thursday, May 2, to continue the dialogue.

“In the meantime, they had indicated that they would be discussing the proposals with the relevant staff. JPS is therefore surprised to hear that the company has not delivered expected counter proposals to the union,” the energy company said.

The company said it was now awaiting feedback on the various elements of the proposal and looks forward to meeting with UCASE on May 2.

However, UCASE in a release on Monday said that there was no meeting scheduled between it and the power company.