Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter
THE ISLAND'S air traffic controllers will be joining the salary negotiation line to navigate for better salaries with Minister of Finance, Dr. Omar Davies.
Howard Greaves, president of the Jamaica Air Traffic Controllers Association, told The Gleaner that the association had written the Finance Minister, to seek audience with him to commence salary talks.
"We are like other parties who were not signatories to this Public Sector Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)," Greaves said.
He said air traffic controllers were "Finding it basically burdensome to be forced into a situation where we see the need for an increase based on what is happening in the economy and cannot get an increase.
"It just seems unfair for the working man to be asked to hold strain while everybody else is doing whatever they feel in terms of survival," he added. "Give us an opportunity to make some adjustments, some where that we can earn some money to be able to survive."
SEEKING LEGAL ADVICE
Greaves said the association was also seeking legal advice with the intention of challenging a court injunction, which was taken out against them by the Government to prevent them from taking industrial action.
On Friday, the Supreme Court issued a 30-day injunction barring air traffic controllers from taking further industrial action, preventing a shutdown of the island's airports.
This was after the Ministry of Labour took the matter to court, following reports of continued sick-out by the air traffic controllers.
But Mr. Greaves denied that they had taken industrial action, but instead said that the near crisis was due essentially to a staff shortage.
Asked if the sick-out will continue, he said: "It is not a matter of continuing anything. The situation is that we are short-staffed. So, as long as we have a staffing problem, whenever a person reports sick for work and another person has to work a double shift ... it will cause a ripple effect."
This is the second time in three months that the Supreme Court has had to intervene in matters relating to air traffic controllers.
