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  • 1 year ago
The Transport Minister tells TV6 News that the protest by pilots of Caribbean Airlines at the Piarco International Airport was done responsibly enough that it did not cause any disruption at the airport.

As for the high level of abseentism by employees at the Port of Port of Spain, the Transport Minister said that this did pose challenges to the international aspect of cargo handling.

However, he said most of the port's operations continued as usual.

Juhel Browne reports
Transcript
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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