KINGSTON: A strike by technicians employed to Petrojam, the State oil refinery, started affecting operations at its Kingston and Montego Bay facilities.
The action comes after a 72-hour strike notice, issued last Friday, expired at 4:30 pm on the other day.
“As it stands now, the night shift will not be reporting to work,” Petroleum Workers’ Association (PWA) President Marlon Campbell told media last night. “However, we stand ready to discuss the matter with the management, even if it’s at midnight.”
Campbell explained that the industrial action was triggered by the association’s concerns about unsafe/hazardous working conditions and the technicians’ distrust of the management who, he said, have reneged on agreements.
He said the association’s members, which number 90, have been exposed to injuries with long-term effects, and discussions with the management to resolve the issue have not yielded fruit.
“We have seen little to no improvement in terms of working conditions, because the injuries with long-term effects are mounting, and there are also serious concerns about the integrity of the management,” he said.
Campbell said he could not give an indication of the severity of the strike on loading operations at the refinery today.
“They can probably get people to work on the loading base. Maybe the operation will be a little slower, but at the end of the day it would be able to be carried out. However, the main thing that will be affected will be plant operation,” he said.
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