File photo
.png)
Clifton Grant, First Vice President of the UAWU and John Levy, General Secretary of UCASE
By Clinton McGregor
Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) drivers have agreed to end their strike action following the intervention of the Ministry of Labour.
Commuters across the Kingston Metropolitan Region and St. Catherine were left stranded on Tuesday morning after the drivers withdrew their service to protest against the alleged assault of a female driver by two Franchise Protection Inspectors of the company.
Radio Jamaica News was informed that the driver was physically assaulted by a Franchise Protection Inspector after an anomaly was discovered with a ticket.
It's reported that the husband of the inspector, who is also employed in the same department, intervened in support of his spouse.
The incident was captured on a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera and the footage was shown to the union representatives in a meeting.
The strike action affected operations at the Rockfort, Portmore and Spanish Town depots.
Clifton Grant, First Vice President of the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU), told Radio Jamaica News on Tuesday afternoon that, following the meeting with the Ministry of Labour, it was agreed that the workers will return to work with immediate effect.
He said the injured driver will remain on sick leave, while the two Franchise Protection Inspectors involved in the incident will remain on administrative leave while the investigations continue.
Earlier, John Levy, General Secretary of the Union of Clerical Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE), rejected the call for the Franchise Protection Inspectors to be terminated.
UCASE represents clerical staff at JUTC.
Mr. Levy said the demand is an overreach.
He agreed that the drivers should allow the investigation into the incident to proceed unhindered while the parties involved remain off duty.
comments powered by Disqus
.jpg)
All feeds
