THE MINISTRY of Labour and Social Security has stepped into the job evaluation dispute threatening operations at the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPSCo), by calling an emergency conciliatory meeting for Monday morning.Conciliation spokesman, Claude Thompson, said that the parties have been invited to a meeting at the Ministry's North Street office on Monday at 10 a.m. He said that the meeting was called in light of the fact that the JPSCo is an essential service. He said that the Ministry hoped that some settlement could be reached by the strike deadline.
The BITU and the NWU wrote the company yesterday, issuing a 72-hour strike ultimatum which expires at 3 p.m. on Monday. The ultimatum is required under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the unions and the company.
The unions said that they found the company's response to their request for a positive response to their demand for the implementation of pay adjustments arising from a job evaluation exercise "untenable and without merit".
The JPSCo had informed the unions of its position on the issue by way of a letter yesterday, signed by chief financial officer Carlton Watson.
The letter said that the company would continue to benchmark appropriate companies and seek to offer compensation and benefits to the workers which are 50 per cent of the market range. It added that employees would be allowed to earn in excess of the 50 per cent cap through performance incentives.
The company also offered to reclassify positions which were below market minimums, in accordance with the job evaluation exercise, retroactive to January 1, 2002 in time to meet the Christmas deadline set by the unions, but on condition that the unions accept their compensation offer prior to December 3.
But the unions are opposed both to the January 1, 2002 effective date of the pay adjustments, as well as the 50 per cent of market salary range proposed by the company. They pointed out that the job evaluation has been pending for two years. They immediately issued the 72-hour ultimatum yesterday.
Talks between the JPSCo and trade unions representing its unionised staff broke down Thursday, over the implementation of pay adjustments arising from a recent job evaluation exercise.
Mining and Energy Minister, Robert Pickersgill, had assured employees of the JPSCo that they would retain their benefits under plans which existed prior to the sale and in accordance with prevailing collective bargaining agreements last year.
The Government sold 80 per cent of its shares in the JPSCo to Mirant Energy Inc. for about US$201 million in March 2001. The company has continued to operate as the JPSCo, under a 20-year licence issued by the Ministry of Mining and Energy.
