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Lambert Brown, President of the UAWU
A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) involving the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU) and the management of St. Ann based Noranda Jamaica Bauxite.
More than 180 production workers at the company walked off the job Monday morning.
They complained about being treated unfairly by Noranda.
Lambert Brown, President of the UAWU, is hopeful that the parties will reach a settlement following Tuesday's meeting.
Mr. Brown blamed the Ministry of Labour for Monday's loss of production at the Noranda plant.
He said the union has been arguing since May this year that the company has not been paying the right salary to employees.
Despite complaints, he said the ministry failed to act swiftly to amend the terms of reference for the workers.
"Both employers and the union have objected to the terms of reference. We had a meeting at the Ministry of Labour earlier this month... and the ministry promised to give us back within days the terms of reference. It is now weeks since, and two meetings have been cancelled at the IDT because of the absence of the terms of reference," he contended.
Mr. Brown argued that it took Monday's protest by workers, who stayed off the job, for the minister to sign the terms of reference.
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