GOVERNMENT, while reaching an agreement for the resumption of work at the National Water Commission (NWC) following a two-day strike, faced more troubles Wednesday night with a threat by civil servants to take industrial action.

The 30,000-strong members of the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA) warned of the possibility of industrial action, starting as early as today, in response to what the leadership of the association says is the neglect shown by the finance ministry to its request for a meeting to discuss new issues arising from recent salary benefit developments.

According to JCSA President Oneil Grant, there is need for a proper sit-down, to discuss whether some major concerns can be addressed at this time.

“If they can be addressed fulsomely, then we can do that. If it can’t, then we will have to sit down with the ministry and go through whatever alternatives we can come up with,” Grant told the Jamaica Observer Wednesday night.

In the meantime, the two-day-old strike at the NWC ended last night with unionised workers expected to turn up for the 11:00 pm shift.

It could not be ascertained how much of an effect the resumption would have on the unscheduled water lock-offs by this morning, but Wednesday night’s return has given the commission and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service enough breathing room to address their issues concerning a job reclassification, which led to the strike.

The water shortage, which quickly developed after a breakdown in discussions on reclassification of the staff, was ascribed primarily to a shutdown of service from the company’s major treatment plants across the island by the disgruntled workers.

It is understood that, in some cases, soldiers had to be deployed in efforts to assist technical staff in reviving production at these major facilities, as the workers and their unions ignored calls to resume normality on Tuesday.

But, getting the treatment plants back to normal operations has been proceeding much too slowly for the system in locations such as Kingston and St Andrew, Spanish Town, Greater Mandeville (Manchester), St Ann and Trelawny, forcing the parties to focus more on the water situation and growing public discontent and to reach a decision to resume normality after nearly two virtually waterless days.

It wasn’t until after more than six hours more of conciliation under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and with the nudging of its conciliatory staff, that the parties eventually “broke bread” and conceded to the need to end the strike.

Trade union and company sources attending the meeting at the ministry were tight-lipped about the details of what they considered an “understanding” between them and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service. But it seemed to be a tremendous relief for both sides that an agreement was finally reached which should facilitate a peaceful resolution of the disputes.

In the meantime, the JCSA said Wednesday that the association had sent a memorandum to the finance ministry, reminding senior officers of the need to meet and discuss outstanding issues and to respond to the request by 5:00 pm Wednesday. However, there was no response.

“If there is no response, I will have to report back to the members this evening to let them know what has happened, and they will give me a further mandate, then we will have to act on that mandate,” Grant said.

Two weeks ago, the JCSA accused the ministry of frustrating and delaying their attempts to negotiate a claim owed as far back as March of last year. The association mentioned a document labelled “benefits”, which addresses the very items of their claim that they wish to negotiate and settle, but which it claimed were being ignored.

The JCSA accused the ministry of attempting to use the compensation review as a means to eliminate the claims without negotiations being settled, as well as an attempt to destroy the collective bargaining process and to weaken the organisation of its membership.

Other public sector groups, said Grant, have been finding fault with the compensation review process, saying these discussions are crucial, especially in light of the announcement that the motor vehicle duty concession benefit will end on June 30, an announcement which, he said, has “destabilised” civil servants.

He said civil servants are anxious about the review which will see some allowances and pay scales eliminated.