KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Union of Clerical Administrative & Supervisory Employees (UCASE) has agreed to a resumption of local level wage negotiations with the G4S Guardsman joint venture on Friday, which it hopes will reach a conclusion by late November.

UCASE President Vincent Morrison confirmed on Tuesday that the ministry had intervened into the issue, which concerns increased wages for Jamaican security guards who are assigned to the United States embassy in Kingston.

Based on the proposals from a meeting held on Tuesday at the ministry, it was decided to recall the talks which were threatened by a breakdown in the negotiations, Morrison said. He said that the security officers are becoming extremely restive, and UCASE had informed the company that the restiveness among them could develop into industrial action, “if the company continues to remain intransigent in the negotiating process”.

He said that the union has made its position “patently clear”, that the offer of a 10 per cent increase in year one of an agreement, followed by zero increase in the second year, and followed by five per cent in the third, fourth and fifth years of the contract, is not only inadequate but is unsatisfactory to the employees.

According to Morrison, the union had asserted, during the negotiations, that the company can do much better for the employees, taking into consideration the contract it has with its major joint venture security guards partners around the world.

“We had an amicable meeting today [Tuesday] and they have agreed to respond to our claims, and we expect a response. They are supposed to respond to us by Friday, after which we hope to be able to negotiate up to November 21,” he added.

London-based G4S is part of Allied Universal, a leading security and facility services company, which provides proactive security services and cutting-edge smart technology to deliver tailored, integrated security solutions that allow clients to focus on their core business.

G4S offers a range of services, including the supply of security personnel, monitoring equipment, response units and secure prisoner transportation. It also works with governments overseas to deliver security services. It is the world’s largest security company in terms of revenues.