Air traffic controllers strike

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Air traffic controllers Sunday followed through with a threat to take strike action over pay issues.
However, fears of a shutdown of the island’s airports have not materialized. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that it has put contingency plans in place to ensure that all airports continue to be operations.
Director General Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Derby said managers had been placed on standby to man the air traffic control facilities.
The Jamaica Air Traffic Controllers Association (JACTA) served notice on Friday that members would be off the job from Sunday to protest their exclusion from a series of meetings between government and public sector workers, aimed at reaching an agreement on outstanding seven percent wage increases.
The air traffic controllers’ strike came as Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Senator Arthur Williams, held the latest talks.
JACTA is also upset about statements made by the CAA that its members had been overpaid in previous years and owed the government money. The association has demanded an apology. (CMC)