A member of the Union of Clerical Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE) has blasted the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) for its failure to abide by protocols in handling an ongoing wage matter.

General secretary at UCASE, John Levy told the Jamaica Observer that JPS has sought to make arrangements with the bargaining units at the organisation instead of meeting with delegates and elected unions which act on their behalf with regards to negotiations.

“There may be a few people who have complained and have their own agenda as members but that does not give the company the right to go behind the unions’ back under the guise that they are updating the workers on the negotiation. That has not gone down well with the delegates, the vast majority of the workers, and the union,” Levy said.

“The issue of trying to negotiate directly and engage directly with the members of the bargaining unit is a breach of the entire process, the role and the rights of the union, and the role and rights of management,” he added.

According to Levy, UCASE –which represents about 400 members — and JPS have been engaging in discussions about wages for a long time.

He said for the 2018 to 2019 period, the contractual agreement was not settled until December 2020.

Now, for the 2020 to 2021 period, he said the organisation is in the same waiting dilemma.

“We waited three years for a two-year contract. We are now in the third year again, going for a two-year contract, and it looks like it is the same thing that is going to happen,” he explained.

Levy added that nearly 100 former workers have been airing their concerns about the delay in the wage negotiations being settled, as they are yet to receive their monies.

In the meantime, Levy said UCASE has referred the matter to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and JPS’s Senior Vice-President, People Operations, Charmaine Heslop-DaCosta.

Moreover, regarding allegations that JPS has sought to make arrangements with the bargaining units at the organisation instead of meeting with delegates and elected unions which act on their behalf with regards to negotiations, Audrey Williams, media and public relations manager at JPS, said “The IDT [Industrial Disputes Tribunal] made an award in November 2020 surrounding wages and benefits for the years 2018 and 2019. The employees have been requesting of the company to provide an update on several matters to include but not limited to wage negotiations, as they have stated the communication with UCASE has been minimal. The company in its response has communicated that it will host a voluntary forum to provide an update and allow for questions and answers. It’s important to note, the employees had requested a meeting with the company in 2020, prior to the IDT award which was hosted on October 16, 2020. This forum attracted over 300 employees. This approach is no different from what has occurred in 2020.”

In relation to the wage negotiations with UCASE, Williams said, “JPS and the union [have] been in constant dialogue on the wage negotiations. The company in its last communication to UCASE proposed a date for which UCASE has advised they will check their diary and revert. We await such confirmation to continue the dialogue on the matter. The company remains open and believes, with the spirit of the dialogue, this matter can be brought to conclusion in short order.”

— Brittny Hutchinson