DESPITE being able to secure a meeting on May 4 during which they had hoped to reach an agreement with Professor Gordon Shirley, who heads Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ), embattled employees of Port Management Security Limited (PMSL) still feel that the walls are closing in on their careers.

They now demand “something in writing” to make them feel more assured they will still have their jobs come June 30.

The group of more than 60 men and women, whose expertise has helped to detect illegal firearms and ammunition at the nation’s ports, expressed fear in late April that Jamaica’s security would be at risk if their jobs are to be made redundant.

“We are pointing finger at Customs and we are asking the minister of finance and public service to step in,” one of the employees told the Jamaica Observer on Friday.

In an interview with the Observer last month the employees were concerned that, come June 30, the services they provide will be transferred to Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA). However, the employees contend that JCA staff members have no experience nor knowledge on how to embark on an undertaking such as finding guns and drugs in mass quantities.

“Professor Shirley kept his promise to meet with us, based on a recent Jamaica Observer article, so yes we are pleased in that sense,” the employee said.

“He said he is trying to work out a solution with Customs but he is getting a pushback from Customs. He said he wanted a smooth handover where they would absorb everybody but Customs is pushing it back, saying they don’t want that. We don’t know what they want,” the employee said, adding that he and his colleagues are still not yet satisfied they can trust the process until something is presented to them in writing.

“Hell no! We don’t trust it because the whole time it was just about redundancy and sending us home. It’s because they are getting a pushback why they are trying now to appease the public; they are [also] upset even about a recent cartoon that came out in the
Observer. But until we get something in writing I don’t trust the process. Customs put something in the newspaper saying they have state-of-the-art machine and those nonsense. I guess it is a way of pushing back by telling the public they have found 10 guns. Come on now,” he said, pointing out that PMSL has found way more than just 10 guns.

The meeting with Shirley, the worker said, was held two Saturdays ago when he said the Port Authority boss stated he was willing to discuss the matter with the finance minister.

“Come the end of June we can’t do anything; the only leverage we have is in six weeks. Protest is always going to be on the table. He [Shirley] promised to come back to us with something enuh. What if he comes back to us with nonsense? It has to be done, because we don’t have any leverage after June so we have to think about it.

According to another employee, the alleged pushback from Customs is occurring because there is no plan to accommodate the workers.

“The impression we are getting is that Customs wants to get rid of us who are the experts in the field, who have gone 17 to 18 years. We want the minister of finance to get involved. From my perspective, if it wasn’t for the news article in the Observer we probably would not have been able to meet with Professor Shirley. It was the publication that forced them to meet with us, so that is why we are continuing to press the issue. At least he lived up to his promise to meet with us but we need someone for Customs now to come out and answer the various questions.

“We would love to get the minister involved. You cannot just throw away more than 60 people who have been there for 15, 16 and 17 years just like that — and nobody else has their skills. Those skills were acquired during working, training and courses, so we have to fight it. They found 10 guns, but that is minor to what we have found over the years. This is the time to bring out everything. All the weapons found in Montego Bay and Kingston, it was us,” said the port security worker.

“Some of us have done necessary investigations and followed up on intelligence and, as a result, a lot of weapons were found. Customs only came in after the result. We are experts in our thing,” he added.

On April 26 the Observer sent questions to PAJ regarding the issue but, to date, there has been no response other than to say the questions were received.

Among the questions sent to PAJ was whether or not Jamaica Customs Agency is equipped to spot cleverly hidden guns and other contraband, as the members of the PMSL are able to do. Also, it was queried whether or not politics could be at play, as the workers suspect.