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By Racquel Porter
General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress, Barry Dawes, who is representing disgruntled workers employed at Kingston Freeport Terminal says he will in short order address accusations of failing to communicate and acting outside their interests.
Scores of workers stayed off the job to press for better salaries.
Speaking briefly with Radio Jamaica News Thursday afternoon, Mr. Dawes said the union notes what he terms the "gross inaccuracies" of the narrative around the issue and will set the record straight in short order.
There was a similar work stoppage on Monday, which saw the workers returning to their jobs on Wednesday.
But Thursday's sick-out stemmed from talks reportedly held Wednesday between the Trade Union Congress and the company's management.
At the centre of the workers' contention is a proposed salary increase arising from a job evaluation, which they say unfairly excludes some of their colleagues. They have rejected the proposal as "disappointing" and "disrespectful".
In the meantime, KFTL's CEO's Captain Jedrzej Mierzewski said any worker who participates in the "orchestrated" action underway at Jamaica's main port, will have their salaries cut.
The caution was sent via a memo Thursday morning after several production workers reported sick for the 6 a.m. shift.
The company said an unusual number of employees have called in sick Thursday, as was also the case on Monday.
The CEO said KFTL considers both 'sick-outs', as well as the messages, letters and voice notes which have been circulating, as an orchestrated attempt to frustrate the negotiation process with the union and disrupt normal operations.
The CEO said any employee who participates in an orchestrated sick-out will be considered as not having shown up for work and will not be paid for the relevant period.
In addition, the CEO said unauthorised absence, deliberate restriction of work or intentional slowdown of work are disciplinary breaches and will be treated accordingly.
He encouraged workers with concerns to follow the appropriate channels for discussion.
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