The management team at Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) is taking flak from the National Workers Union (NWU) and its employees over its handling of several workplace matters.

A letter dated January 24 from the NWU signed by its President Granville Valentine, pointed out that PICA’s management has committed a breach by not honouring the NWU and its own signed agreement.

The letter also pointed out that the management team has started to use “brute force’ and intimidatory tactics” against certain workers, breaching the no victimisation clause.

“Management has also abused its authority by immediately transferring the workers from the Extension of Stay Unit, Waterloo Road location to the Norman Manley International Airport,” Valentine said in the letter.

“They were also reverted from straight day work to shift work. Interestingly, the customary one month notice period prior to a transfer being effective was not given to the affected workers,” he added.

Valentine also said the management team has “deliberately and spitefully” sought to disrupt the daily lives of four employees.

“It is a clear case of victimisation where these four were singled out and treated differently from every other worker as it relates to location transfer with a clear intent of disrupting their lives,” he said.

“This action has caused unrest and tension among the workers when we should be working towards industrial harmony.

It is the objective of the Government and trade unions to maintain industrial harmony but management has failed to work with employees and trade unions in building a harmonious working relationship,” added Valentine.

Another document obtained by the Jamaica Observer detailed complaints from immigration workers.

In the document, the workers said the management team is “never shy from showing how much they detest us.”

The workers blasted the PICA CEO Andrew Wynter, who they claimed has been ignoring Government rulings in their favour.

The workers pointed out that the delay in their reclassification exercise has put the immigration department in a “chaotic situation.”

The most recent issue, the letter pointed to involved customer service agents interviewing foreigners, which they claim is unlawful.

“The recent of our many issues in the news, is that of customer service agents doing interviews of foreign nationals who have applied for immigration status in our country for work, residence, study, is one of his (Wynter) most blatant disregard for the nation’s laws and due process as it is written in the many laws governing the immigration department,” the document shared.

“He was given a directive by the Minister of National Security Horace Chang at the request of the NWU to remove these customer service agents from the process, and he has defied his own minister and refuses to do so,” the document added.

According to the letter, the officers who have decided with the backing of the union not to assist the management team, have been victimized by the agency.

Calls made to Wynter’s phone to allow him to address the allegations went unanswered.

Last year the immigration officers went on strike over a number of issues including the interdiction of the workers and the non-payment of a special allowance to officers.