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| Their strike action which began around 6 a.m. and lasted most of the day forced the airline to cancel flights to New York, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Toronto and Curacao, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at the island's two international airports - Norman Manley International and Sangster International. (Photo: www.caribbeanalpa.com) | |
KINGSTON, Jamaica, March 26, 2008 - Air Jamaica flight attendants were back on the job late yesterday after staging a sick out to protest a range of issues.
Their strike action which began around 6 a.m. and lasted most of the day forced the airline to cancel flights to New York, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Toronto and Curacao, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at the island's two international airports - Norman Manley International and Sangster International.
Management of the airline and officials of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) which is representing the workers, are expected to begin a series of meetings this afternoon aimed at resolving the issues, which include wages and fringe benefits.
The workers also complained about poor working conditions. According to BITU President, Kavan Gayle the living conditions at a hotel in New York where employees overnight while in the United States are unacceptable and the airline's management has failed to address the problem despite numerous complaints.
He said the union was interesting in finding a resolution to the long-standing dispute, but claimed that Air Jamaica had been delaying the discussions.
"The issues vary from operational issues that affect the flight attendants. The flight attendants are governed by certain rules and we have been trying to sort out these rules with the company," he said.
"We have been trying to have discussions with the company but have failed, so the ministry has had to intervene to facilitate the negotiations and it is against that background that the workers have gone back to work," he added.
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