The Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) says it is addressing concerns identified by staff as they are raised, amid a strike by immigration officers that inconvenienced thousands of travellers at the island’s two international airports on Monday.

At the same time, PICA chided National Workers’ Union (NWU) General Secretary Granville Valentine for failing to secure an acceptable wage deal for the employees represented by the NWU, given the agreement reached between the Government and other public sector groups.

The agency said it noted with interest a statement by Valentine that other public sector groups — including doctors, teachers, Customs and Tax Administration Jamaica workers — “have got through” and that the police, who are also negotiating a new wage deal with the Government, have “a big offer on the table”.

“He said those groups were able to settle because of ‘lucrative offers’ made.

“One would have expected that Mr Valentine would have done the same for the immigration officers, who are equally important, as he was also part of the negotiation for that body of workers with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MOFPS),” the agency said in a news release Monday.

The agency’s response came after Valentine told media that the strike was a long time coming as PICA employees have been disgruntled about the management at the agency.

“How this came about shouldn’t be any surprise to the powers that be or the management [because] the workers have been frustrated for a very long time, and more so in recent times from multiple points of view, but especially [due to] the way the compensation review has been handled by the management. We must lay this burden squarely at the feet of the management,” Valentine said.

However PICA, in response, said the current compensation agreement is being implemented as negotiated by the NWU, and the Jamaica Civil Service Association with the finance ministry.

“Negotiations within the public sector for increased wages and improved working conditions are done between the respective unions and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, PICA said.

It said that over the years it has taken steps, within the parameters of the MOFPS, to advance the cause of its “valued employees”.

“Consequently, we initiated a unit review exercise which commenced in October 2022, which we are in the process of completing. It is instructive to note that this restructuring programme was an initiative that was started by the agency to ensure that there are proper alignments of the compensation for employees to take into account their roles and responsibilities,” PICA said, adding that the programme started in 2018.

PICA also said that Valentine’s statement that the management does not have the interest of the workers at heart or understand that national issues are at stake is not a reflection of the truth.

“The management has been doing its best to address all the issues and concerns raised by staff and the unions arising from the compensation agreed upon by the parties involved,” PICA said.

“To this end, the agency has established an email address specifically for staff to submit their concerns, and has also done face-to-face meetings with employees. Their concerns were thereafter compiled and submitted to MOFPS for discussion.”

The agency also said that it has invited Valentine “to come to the table where all the issues can be aired and where we can seek a possible solution, but he has refused to do so for reasons all known to himself”.

The agency said it “continues to stand ready and willing to address any and all concerns raised, and will accept any submissions from the unions regarding additional issues or concerns”.

Meanwhile, the strike delivered a body blow to operations at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay and Norman Manley International in Kingston.

“Between both airports we had about 65 flights coming in today and the bulk of that, about 50 flights, in Montego Bay,” Delano Seiveright, senior advisor and communications strategist in the tourism ministry, told the Jamaica Observer.

“Montego Bay was the more challenging. Thirty-four of those flights came in-between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm, that’s over 5,000 passengers, so we had much longer lines than normal in light of the fact that quite a number of personnel were not on duty. There were some PICA supervisory personnel on duty and we managed to get the support of the Jamaica Tourist Board staff and the MBJ staff to assist passengers in clearing them through immigration. Most passengers used the kiosks, and they were helped by staff with those kiosks,” Seiveright said.

“So there were long wait times but, for the most part, we were able to clear those passengers,” he informed.