NWA sickout, FLA report row and CaribSEZ launch lead CVM national debate

National Works Agency workers staged industrial action as the Jamaica Civil Service Association pressed management and the Government to address unresolved concerns over pay anomalies, leave entitlements, allowances, reclassification and job security.

JCSA president Teisha Clodagh Griffiths said the union represents more than 200 NWA employees and that 78 workers had signed a letter warning of action. She said about 90 per cent of staff called in sick, while the union urged them to return to work pending a meeting next Tuesday and to wear black in solidarity. Works Minister Robert Morgan said NWA workers should not be left in doubt and directed the agency’s chief executive to meet with staff and the union.

The programme also examined a confrontation in Parliament over an Integrity Commission report concerning the Firearm Licensing Authority. Opposition MP Peter Bunting said the report had been at Gordon House for 51 days without being tabled or published, meaning the public could not see it under the Integrity Commission Act. He rejected the argument that court action should block tabling, citing a previous ruling on parliamentary handling of oversight reports.

In business, Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority CEO Kelly Tom Hamilton discussed the launch of the Caribbean Special Economic Zone Association in Panama City on May 13. Founding members included Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, the Dominican Republic and Aruba. Hamilton said the grouping is meant to align standards, share opportunities and strengthen the region’s position in global trade, while acknowledging practical challenges around customs, ports, energy and approvals.

The broadcast later turned to global risks, including a World Health Organization warning over Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States indictment of former Cuban leader Raul Castro over the 1996 shooting down of civilian aircraft, and concern about extreme heat and drought linked to possible El Nino conditions.