00:00The Anna Robinson International Airport in Tobago and the PRQ International Airport in Trinidad both fall under the transport aspect of
00:08Minister Rohan Sinanan's cabinet portfolio. In response to questions from TV6 News via telephone, the Transport Minister
00:15commented on the Caribbean Airlines
00:18pilots protest on Thursday and noted that the airline falls under the Ministry of Finance.
00:24However, I must report that it did not affect the operations at the airport.
00:29It was, I think it was a demonstration for about 20 or 25 minutes and all flights run
00:35as scheduled. So there was really no interruption.
00:38Pilots did a demonstration, but it was done
00:43responsibly enough to not cause any disruption at the airport. As the line minister for the nation's seaports,
00:50Minister Sinanan confirmed that employees at the Port of Port of Spain,
00:54not showing up for work on Thursday and on Wednesday,
00:58did have an impact on certain aspects of the port's operations.
01:03Yes, yes, some of it would have caused some
01:08challenges with the loading and offloading of the heavy cargo carriers.
01:13So yes, there were some some positions that would have affected the operation of the international aspect of cargo handling.
01:22But it is something that, you know, it is not the first time and I'm sure it will not be the last time.
01:28But the business of the port goes on. Port of Port of Spain employees gathered at the headquarters of their union, the
01:37SWWTU, on Wrightson Road on Wednesday and on Thursday.
01:41TV6 News posed the question to Minister Sinanan about wage negotiations at the port. There are some
01:49outstanding
01:52negotiations to
01:54conclude, where my information is that the CPO did make a proposal to the port,
02:02the unions. I think most of them have not accepted that. So that will remain open until
02:09the CPO and the unions, you know, agree on a figure. But as I said, I have not had any
02:17information from the port as to why
02:20some of the employees didn't turn up in certain departments at the port.
02:24Thursday is the day of the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister.
02:28So was the cabinet and or the Prime Minister briefed about the industrial action taken by
02:35the Caribbean Airlines pilots and by the employees of the Port of Port of Spain?
02:40It is not normal to discuss cabinet discussions.
02:44However, what I can tell you is that those challenges are operational challenges and those
02:50challenges are already dealt with at the board level.
02:53Minister Sinanan said those challenges happen from time to time. In the case of the pilots and so, they would have a
03:01small demonstration at Piaco. Everything went back to normal in terms of the port.
03:07There were some people who stayed home. You always have people staying home. Those are things that, you know, the
03:14commissioners at the port
03:17and the management of the port deal with
03:21as they go along. As for what is reported to the Prime Minister and or the cabinet, Minister Sinanan indicated that would include
03:28situations that are deemed to be a threat to national security or threaten the nation's stability in any major way.
03:36Jule Brown, TV6 News.
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