FIREMEN AND their union leaders are scheduled to meet this morning at 9:00 at the York Park Fire Station to determine their next move after three days of work-to-rule protest across the island.
The firemen's protest, which began on Friday, forced several Corporate Area stations to close. They are pressing the Government to pay them for overtime work done over the past two months.
"Everything is basically as it was on Friday," said Helen Davis-Whyte, general secretary of the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers (JALGO), one of three unions representing fire-fighters. The others are the National Workers Union and the University and Allied Workers Union whose representatives could not be reached yesterday.
Mrs. Davis-Whyte said the firemen opted to continue their protest as they were unable to confirm reports that the Ministry of Local Government has promised to make the payments on March 3. "When we checked with the Fire Brigade administration they have not been so informed hence there is nothing official to us yet," Mrs Davis-Whyte said.
Three Corporate Area stations - Trench Town, Stony Hill and Port Royal -remained closed over the weekend as the protest action by firemen meant all stations could not be properly manned. Staff from these stations were sent to Half-Way Tree, York Park and Rollington Town. The closed stations continued to take emergency calls which were diverted to the functioning stations.
Meanwhile, Deputy Superinten-dent for St. James, Valbert Lawrence, reported yesterday that firemen in the parish responded to a few calls and cleared a minor oil spill on the Free Port main road in Montego Bay.
Similarly, District Officer for Westmoreland, Delroy Davis, told The Gleaner that parish personnel had responded to few emergencies, mainly fire calls. "Basically the men remain restive and are waiting to see if the Government will keep its promise," he said.
The mood was much the same in Hanover and Trelawny. However, in St. Elizabeth, Acting Assistant Superintendent Steve Morgan said that while they were also on work-to-rule, his parish was not facing the same situation as others. "It is a bit different here in St. Elizabeth we have our full staff. We do not have a problem with a lack of personnel," he said.
Firemen have been protesting on and off since early last year when the Ministry of Local Government, Youth and Community Develop-ment fell behind on its monthly overtime bill of $10 million.
