By BALFORD HENRY, News EditorWITH THE threat of a strike still hanging over bauxite/ alumina operations at the West Indies Alumina Company (WINDALCO) plants, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has planned another conciliatory meeting for tomorrow.
Despite meeting for some eight hours at the Hilton Kingston Hotel in New Kingston on Friday, the company and the National Workers Union (NWU) failed to resolve their dispute over the Personal Income (or devaluation) Protection (PIP) agreement, which protects the workers against devaluations of the Jamaican dollar.
Tomorrow's meeting, which will take place at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, comes against the background of claims by NWU's Vice President, Norman DaCosta, that another 72-hour strike notice could be issued
as early as this weekend.
"It is very possible. The union has been appealing to the workers to exercise restraint but, if we don't have a breakthrough on Thursday, it could lead to strike action," Mr. DaCosta said.
He said that the union would have to issue another strike notice, a requirement of the Memorandum of Understanding between the unions and the companies, to avoid wildcat action such as that which gripped Jamalco last year and resulted in the redundancy of over 600 workers.
The NWU issued a 72-hour strike notice on August 22. Minister of Labour and Social Security, Dean Peart, referred the dispute immediately to the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT). The IDT issued an order against industrial action on August 23 and the Minister also got an injunction in the Supreme Court barring the workers from striking for 30 days. The injunction expired last weekend.
Not, even a six-hour meeting at the Terra Nova Hotel, chaired by Mr. Peart on September 5, has been able to resolve the dispute.
WINDALCO's communications officer, Kayon Wallace, said yesterday that the company would not respond on the issue yesterday, but would do so at a later time.
However, in a release issued to The Gleaner on Thursday, WINDALCO said that it is hoping for the matter to be "expeditiously" resolved by the Ministry of Labour.
The company denied allegations from the NWU that it has refused to honour a letter of understanding in respect of the PIP.
Mr. DaCosta said that he was disappointed that representatives of Glencore, the Swiss metal trading company which owns the majority shares in WINDALCO, had decided against meeting with the union on the issue after earlier indications that it would have.
"We are of the view that such a meeting would greatly assist in arriving at an amicable resolution," Mr. DaCosta said.
But in its statement on the issue, WINDALCO said the local management had been mandated by its principals to deal with all matters concerning the current labour negotiations, "and the company has been doing so with the assistance of the Ministry of Labour."
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has proposed arbitration, but the parties have been unable to agree on an arbitrator or arbitrators. WINDALCO says it is not in agreement with the union's proposal for a sole arbitrator.
"The company has stated its preference for a three-person committee to hear and rule on the issues. This committee would comprise one representative each from the NWU, the company and the Ministry of Labour, with the Ministry's representative serving as the chairman," the company said.
