AIR TRAFFIC controllers and representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Works are to meet on Friday to examine a salary survey commissioned by the Ministry.
The survey, which was conducted by KPMG Peat Marwick, is an analysis of salaries paid to workers in various industries who possess similar skills to air traffic controllers. The survey will form the basis for the Ministry's compensation offer to air traffic controllers. Both sides have been locked in a dispute over wages for the last couple of months.
For the 1999/2001 contract period, the air traffic controllers have demanded a 20 per cent increase in the first year and a 10 per cent increase in the second. However, the Ministry had offered a seven per cent increase. "Basically, the (claim) is not cast in concrete but it is something we can negotiate," said president of the Jamaica Air Traffic Controllers Association," Donald Williams.
Mr. Williams told The Gleaner yesterday that the meetings which have been taking place between the Ministry and the Association have been "very productive" and therefore he expects that the matter will be resolved in an amicable way. There are about 40 certified air traffic controllers islandwide and 20 additional trainees. They are responsible for guiding planes which land at the island's two international airports.
