THE MANAGEMENT and staff of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) are set to meet in January 2001 to discuss the concerns that led to bus drivers and conductors going on strike last week.
The decision for the January meeting came from a two-hour meeting on Wednesday night attended by Dr. Peter Phillips, Minister of Transport and Works, and the staff and management of the JUTC.
The employees parked their buses for several hours on December 22, to protest management's decision to grant a four per cent salary increase only, to drivers and conductors. Also, they contended that they were denied bonuses and promised gifts for the holidays.
Dr. Phillips acknowledged that a letter sent to the Ministry by the JUTC's staff association, outlining its concerns about security, salary, operational and management issues, was legitimate and reflected a genuine interest in the well-being of the public transportation system.
"With it being obvious that the Ministry and the JUTC staff share the same goal of providing a world-class bus system, the way is clear for institutional mechanisms to be implemented to address workers' concerns," he said.
He said that a KPMG/Peat Marwick reclassification is being completed and the results of the study will be shared with JUTC workers by the end of January 2001. Also, he made it mandatory for JUTC's management to meet with the workers in the first week of January to discuss their request to participate in the management of the bus depots.
