The CSA released a statement on today's Sick Out
RTC News received the following press release from the Civil Service Association that reads:
Today Thursday March 24 a number of Civil Servants did not report to work on the grounds of being sick. This event resulted in the closure of a number of Government Departments and the closure of the Providenciales International Airport with the exception of Emergency flights and Essential Services such as Domestic e Fire, Police, Ambulance Services.
It is unknown whether Civil Servants were genuinely sick or whether they were protesting in response to the impending changes in policy as it relates to Taxation, Pension and Payroll. It is also unknown whether they were upset over the Administrations reluctance to allow proper dialogue between their Civil Service Association (CSA) Representatives and persons in Authority here in the TCI or from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. There are numerous unknowns.
However, what is known is that these many issues can affect the mental and physical health of Civil Servants and result in illness such as
what may have occurred today. What is also known is that the Government intends to implement policies that will have a long lasting negative impact on the lives of Civil Servants and their families and residents of the TCI.
The CSA berates the allegation made by the Administration as to the involvement of the CSA in the ill-health of Civil Servants today and also the allegations made about the threat to “public safety”.
Furthermore, the CSA knows for a fact that the Government payroll system was functional today and that the payrolls were prepared from yesterday. Therefore the statement made about the reason to delay payment of wages and salary is false and can only be viewed as an action of victimization todiscipline Civil Servants for being sick.
There are a lot of issues affecting Civil Servants and their families and these issues need to be addressed amicably and with respect. The CSA therefore welcomes dialogue with the Administration so as to reduce the frustration and stress that Civil Servants are currently experiencing and build a better Civil Service and Country.
The release ended with a scripture that reads, The Lord is our light and our salvation; whom shall we fear? The Lord is the strength of our life whom shall we be afraid?
That was the full text from the CSA issued today to RTC News on today's sick out.
TCI Tourist Board adresses today's sick out
With the buzz surrounding today's sick out by the CSA, the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board has also weighed in on the affects by issuing the following statement:
The Tourist Board recognizes and supports the rights of civil servants and government workers to engage in industrial action, it must point out that when such action, grounds flights on our airports and causes international carriers to cancel their service to our islands, the Board is seriously concerned about the adverse effects this can have on our tourism industry.
The inconvenience caused to our guests could shake their confidence in Brand TCI and prove counter-productive to the health and growth of tourism in our islands. Additionally, disruptions in the tourism sector cost the Tourist Board, our private sector partners and government significant sums to restore the destination’s image in the market place.
The Tourist Board therefore urges caution from all involved and dialogue between the parties concerned to bring a speedy end to the current state of affairs for the sake of our tourism industry.
The Tourist Board would like to reassure our valued guests and would-be visitors that the Turks and Caicos Islands remain a great vacation destination, a great place in which to do business and home to friendly people all waiting to embrace you.
The following was a release sent to RTC News today by the Tourist Board on the sick out that left some parts of the country crippled.
C.E,Mark Capes called today's actions by the Civil Servants, 'Disruptive'
The C.E of the TCI, Mark Capes today addressed the Civil Servants Sick out today.
RTC News acquired a copy of his speech which states:
On 24 March, a number of civil servants responded to a call by the leadership of the Civil Service Association (CSA) to take part in what has been termed a ‘sick out’ (not reporting for work on the grounds that they were unwell). While the response across government was patchy and caused minimal disruption to most areas of government, firefighters at Providenciales International Airport were among those that chose to stay home. As a consequence of the firefighters’ decision the airport had to be closed to all flights. This is an extremely serious matter. The firefighters’ action, at the request of the CSA leadership, has caused enormous inconvenience to the thousands of passengers scheduled to pass through the airport: not only tourists, but also those travelling for business, or medical reasons. Of particular concern is that the firefighters’ action has the potential to jeopardize the ability of the airport to deal with any aircraft that might have needed to land in an emergency.
The CSA’s decision to include this essential government service in their action is seriously misguided. In addition to the impact on the airport’s ability to deal with an emergency, the airport closure will have a financial cost to many TCI businesses. It also has the potential to damage the TCI’s reputation as a top tourist destination.
On Friday 11 March the CSA sent an undated note by e-mail to the Governor and to the CEO containing a list of 17 ‘demands’. The note demanded a response within seven days. On Thursday 17 March the TCI Government advised the CSA that it was carefully reviewing the list of demands and would provide a substantive response as soon as possible. The CSA demands, which relate mainly to the detailed proposals for changes to payroll and pension issues put to the CSA by Government on 4 March, raise complex issues that require time to address properly. Work on a detailed response is almost complete with a substantive reply expected to issue by the end of this week. It is therefore disappointing that the CSA should have taken this premature step and encouraged such a damaging action by some public servants, rather than continue to work with the Government to a mutually acceptable outcome.
The CSA’s actions may also cause difficulties for the very civil servants they represent. As a consequence of the participation in the ‘sick out’ by some members of the Ministry of Finance, the financial system used for wage and salary payments was not operational today. This means that the payment of wages/salaries may be delayed.
Major flights to Turks and Caicos Islands cancelled
A massive sick-out by Civil Servants in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Thursday has severely affected the operations of six major airlines and the world's largest private jet company that serve this island-nation which is a magnet for mainly high-end tourists from all around the globe.
Inbound and outbound flights by American Airlines, Delta, US Airways, Continental, Air Canada and Jet Blue have had to be cancelled, as well as private jets from Net Jets, the largest fractional ownership jet company in the world. These airlines operate from Miami, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas and other major gateways.
Also affected were Bahamas Air which operates from Nassau and Air Turks and Caicos which operates flights among the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Early Thursday, the Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority suspended operations into and out of its airports country-wide due to the absence of adequate coverage from the Royal Turks and Caicos Fire Service.
"We are working assiduously to resume operations, and apologize for any inconvenience caused," the release said. Up to the time of writing this report, normal service had not been restored.
By law, if there is no fire-fighting coverage at the airport, no passenger flights are allowed to land or take-off.
The sick-out was sparked by the Interim Government's refusal to meet a March 18th deadline, after being served with one-week notice to respond to demands for the reinstatement of full salary to all Civil Servants as it was prior to April 2010, when it was cut by ten percent.
"This sick-out has paralyzed the aviation and tourism industry," said a high-level Government source who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press. "I understand that the sick-out is planned for two days, which means that it will stretch into Friday, but if it continues into Saturday it will be quite serious because that's when most of the flights and tourists come in."
Several tourists who were expecting to leave on morning and mid-day flights had to return to their hotels.
Information reachingThe SUN indicates that hundreds of Government workers in the Middle Caicos, South Caicos, North Caicos, Providenciales, Salt Cay and the island-capital of Grand Turk, called in sick.
Teachers were also part of the industrial action, causing schools in the islands to close early. Hospitals remained open, and it was business as usual in the private sector.
Source:TCISUN
BUDDING MEDICAL STAFF ENJOY HOSPITAL VISIT
TCI youngsters have been taking a closer look at life in the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre.
RTC news understands that students from the Clement Howell High School visited the InterHealth Canada hospital as part of their career month exercise.
Teacher, Claudell Seymour, told RTC news that “Students will be visiting a range of establishments during the month, thus allowing them to get a feel for working in those places. Quite a few want to go into medicine and so this was a particularly popular visit."
Ms Seymour told our news reporter that "Special thanks goes out to InterHealth for its hospitality and she further thanked Linda Gill and Nicki Mullins who showed them around. Hopefully some of the youngsters will be back as employees one day.”
Nurse educator, Nicki Mullins, said InterHealth welcomes interest in its facilities from local youngsters.
“We are always delighted when young people from the country show an interest in what we do”, she explained.
“Today’s students are tomorrow’s doctors and nurses and it will be great to see children from the Clement Howell School among those who are working at the Provo and Grand Turk medical centres in the not too distant future.”
Bolt, Powell to face off in Rome
Asafa Powell has signed to face his Jamaican compatriot Usain Bolt over 100 metres in the third leg of the Diamond League at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy.
Organisers confirmed Powell’s participation yesterday for the race on May 26, after Bolt had confirmed in January.
Bolt versus Powell will be an early season match-up between the two, as they build-up to the World Championships in Daegu, Korea, from August 27 to September 4.
In nine head-to-head clashes, Bolt has beaten his fellow Jamaican eight times, with Powell’s only victory a close 9.88 to 9.89 win in Stockholm three years ago.
Bolt holds the World record of 9.58 over the distance set at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
Kim Clijsters opts out of Tokyo event over nuclear fear
World number two Kim Clijsters will not play at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September due to the nuclear emergency in Japan.
Clisters, the US Open and Australian Open singles champion, told Belgian media on Tuesday of her decision.
The Belgian player also said that she would withdraw from the China Open in October.
She has extended messages of support to the Japanese people through Twitter since disaster struck the country.
Clijsters also released a statement through the Women's Tennis Association [WTA], which said: "Most importantly, my thoughts and sympathies are with the people in Japan. It's heart wrenching to see what they are going through right now."
The statement continues: "Of course the health and safety of anyone travelling to an impacted area [from radiation] is my top priority, as well as the WTA's. I'm sure the WTA will continue to monitor the situation."
Kimiko Date-Krumm, a former doubles partner of Clijsters, understands why the four-time grand slam winner would be reluctant to compete in Tokyo, but hopes such fears can be allayed.
The Japanese player said: "We still have time, so hopefully we can fix everything and everyone can come to Japan. If it's 100% safe I hope everybody will come and help Japan."
Other top players have decided to reserve judgement on whether to play in Japan, preferring to wait and see how the country recovers from the devastation caused by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
World number three Roger Federer said: "It hasn't even crossed my mind [whether to play in Japan] yet. We'll get the green light from someone else. You always have to take your own decision, but I don't think it will be a problem by then to be honest."
Andy Roddick, the world number eight, said: "I would say it's a long way away for me. Obviously if it's deemed safe I will go."
India knock Aussies out of World Cup
Yuvraj Singh played a match-winning innings as India, roared on by their supporters in Ahmedabad, knocked holders Australia out of the World Cup.
Ricky Ponting's 104, his first century for 13 months, guided a misfiring Australian batting line-up to 260-6.
It was a target that looked within India's compass, and Sachin Tendulkar's 53 set the hosts off in fine style.
Gautam Gambhir added 50 before Yuvraj (57 not out) saw India to a five-wicket win with 14 balls to spare.
The result ended an extraordinary run of success for the Aussies in the World Cup. Beaten finalists in 1996 when Ponting was a junior player, they won the next three tournaments, an imposing run that included a run of 34 matches without defeat.
But their fallibility was shown up by Pakistan, who beat them in their final group match of this tournament, and India's strong batting line-up proved too powerful for Ponting's men.
The co-hosts did come under pressure when tossing away middle order wickets two-thirds of the way through their chase. But Yuvraj and Suresh Raina (34) pushed India across the line with a terrific partnership of 74 from just 61 balls.
India's next match is sure to be a huge occasion - a semi-final in Mohali against Pakistan next week.
Yuvraj said afterwards: "The pressure was something else, I knew there was Suresh yet to come and I knew if we could get a partnership we could take the game to the end. We just played it straight and used the pace.
"People say it's just another game, but beating the three-time champions I feel is really special for me and our team."
Ponting commented: "We competed hard, there's no doubt about that. We thought we were in with a chance at the half-way stage, and that we had a reasonable total.
"But we didn't bowl as well as we needed to, we needed more wickets from the middle order. Yuvraj and Raina played too well. We needed to get into their tail and weren't able to do that.
"It's disappointing to be bowing out now. I wish India well for the rest of the tournament."
Australia won the toss and opted to bat first. The new ball was shared by the excellent left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who found plenty of turn.
Shane Watson and Brad Haddin weathered the early dangers before Watson attempted a slog-sweep against Ashwin in the 10th over, missed and was bowled.
The biggest stand of the innings followed, with Haddin joined by his skipper Ponting, and the two right-handers addied 70 in 13 overs.
Haddin played at a lovely tempo throughout, combining delicate nudges with some muscular smites, but departed for 53 when trying to loft Yuvraj through the covers and picking out Raina at extra-cover.
Ponting began his innings tentatively, unsurprisingly for someone with a previous tournament best of 36, but he moved his feet nicely to put Yuvraj away for two on-side boundaries and was soon threatening something substantial.
Yuvraj picked up a second wicket when Michael Clarke's ugly swipe ballooned to deep mid-wicket, and when Mike Hussey and Cameron White departed cheaply to the accurate Zaheer, Australia's ambitions were duly lowered.
On 91, one ball after launching Harbhajan Singh over mid-off for four, Ponting was given not out by umpire Ian Gould when India's most experienced spinner appealed for lbw. The decision may well have been reversed if India had not already used both their reviews, but Ponting went on to complete his fifth World Cup century.
Much of Australia's most effective biffing at the death was provided by David Hussey (38 not out from 26 balls) but it was hard to call a clear favourite during the break between innings.
When Tendulkar hit the first two legitimate balls he received for fours - the first a delicate nudge behind point, the second lifted over the slips off Shaun Tait - the home fans began to believe early on that it would be their night.
Virender Sehwag was bounced out by Shane Watson for just 15, but the Tendulkar and Gambhir stand of 50 in exactly 10 overs put India in good shape.
There was to be no 100th international century for Tendulkar - though he did pass 18,000 runs in ODIs and become the tournament's leading run scorer - as a fast delivery from Shaun Tait brushed his outside edge en route to Haddin. There was an anxious pause for the bowler while the umpires checked whether he had cut the return crease with his back foot.
Gambhir and Virat Kohli played the spinners so comfortably in India's next partnership that suddenly things began to look a little desperate for the Aussies, but they got a huge lift when they were gifted their next two wickets.
Kohli hit a knee-high David Hussey full toss to midwicket before Gambhir was run out when Yuvraj failed to respond to his call for a quick single - the third such breakdown in communications between the two batsmen.
When Mahendra Dhoni lashed a square cut off Lee to backward point, Clarke diving to claim an excellent catch, India still needed 74 to win from 12.3 overs with five wickets to win.
Another wicket would have put Australia firmly in control but instead Yuvraj and Raina played some of the boldest cricket of the day.
The 40th over, bowled by Lee, went for 14 and brought the crowd alive once again. Yuvraj raised his half-century from just 54 balls as Ponting looked for an inspired bowler to win him the match.
Lee, in what will surely be his last appearance for Australia, could not produce that inspiration. Instead he was lofted nonchalantly for a straight six by Raina.
Aside from providing the wicket of Tendulkar, Tait let down his captain with a barrage of wides, and Johnson was lacklustre.
The makeshift spin unit had tried its best and failed - and it was left to Yuvraj to hit the winning runs as he nailed a lofted cover-drive for four off Lee.
-BBC
T&T gets $210m in EU grants
The European Union (EU), with the support of its member states, has granted to the Government of T&T, a total of $210 million (24.15m euros) from the European Development Fund. This will go towards the development and improvement of two of the country’s strategic priorities—tertiary education and the food production sector. Minister of Planning, Economic and Social Restructuring and Gender Affairs Mary King made the disclosure yesterday, during a press conference at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education at the International Waterfront Centre, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain. The European Development Fund is the main instrument used by the EU for providing developmental aid to countries which meet the qualifying criteria set by specific targets. King said the grant funding was provided through sector budget support and would be deposited into the Treasury to be invested in the programme objectives of two ministries for the following:
• Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education—$96 million ($11.116 million euros)—to support the reform, expansion and rationalisation of the non-university tertiary education sector; and
• Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs—$114 million ($13.034 million euros)—to provide support to the Government’s programme to exit the sugar industry (Caroni (1975) Ltd) by mitigating its social impact, facilitating the diversification of agricultural production and maintaining environmental stability on the former sugar lands.
King, whose ministry acts as the key negotiator of this international funding, has under her purview, the responsibility of ensuring that the programmes cited by both ministerial sectors are implemented, sustained and fulfil the purposes to which respective funding has been accessed. “We ensure that the development strategies and policies which are conceived at the national and sectoral levels are actually translated into programmes and projects that will be rigorously formulated to reflect our national priorities,” King said. “So we will be monitoring to ensure that the funds go into the projects they have been allocated for and will also monitor its evaluation to ensure they are not stalled and that they progress to their successful end.”
In lauding the EU’s support of more than 60 per cent of the world’s development assistance funding, the Minister Counsellor and Charge d’Affaires, Delegation of the European Union (EU) to T&T, Stelios Christopoulos, said this budgetary support allocated to T&T took into consideration the achievements of two of the country’s key performance indicators. He identified the two as the immense funding ($2.4 billion between 2005 and 2010) for the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (Gate), as well as the costly transitional support offered to the nation’s defunct sugar industry and food-diversification incentives. On Christopoulos’ latter citing, Minister of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs Vasant Bharath reminded those present that the Government had started its drive to distribute leases (two-acre parcels) to “over 7,000” ex-employees of Caroni (1975) Ltd, who had been promised the agricultural land in 2003 as part of their voluntary separation package.
Health Dept: No Radiation Risk for Bermuda
There is currently no need for Bermuda residents to be concerned that they will receive harmful doses of radiation from the events presently underway in Japan, according to the Department of Health who is monitoring the information from the World Health Organization and other authorities on the risk to areas of the world outside of Japan.
A spokesperson said, “The opinion of both the World Health Organization, its global network of radiation specialists, and independent investigators, is that there is minimal risk of immediate danger to areas of the world remote to the current radiation emergency in Japan.”
“Radiation exposure can pose risks to health, dependent on the dose. The dose of radiation is dependent on the distance from the source of radiation. The greater the distance from the source, the lower the dose and the lower the risk of exposure. Thousands of kilometers from the current source of radiation in Japan, as is Bermuda, the dose and risks are negligible. Still, it is understandable that people would have concerns.”
“Health risks from radiation are determined by many variables, some of them unpredictable. We cannot predict how the situation in Japan will evolve, or how much radiation will ultimately be released by the damaged reactors, so it is helpful to understand some basic facts about health risks from radiation.”
“Radiation-related health problems are determined by the amount of exposure to radiation, that is, the dose of radiation over the time of exposure. Exposure in this case is related to many factors: the amount of radiation being released into the atmosphere, the weather conditions (rain and wind), the distance from the radiation source and the length of time of exposure. ”
“Current WHO opinion is that for those living 50 to 100 km from the damaged reactors in Japan, there is a possible risk of health consequences, and evacuation from these areas has been advised. Biologically significant radiation emissions (Iodine 131) will be of concern to people living in Japan, or South Korea and China if the wind shifts and blows on shore or inland.”
“Should we be worried in Bermuda if nuclear reactors in Japan melt down? We should not be worried for our own safety.”
“The longer-lived isotopes, Cesium 137, cobalt 60, might be dispersed if there is a meltdown and these could enter the food chain: thus food inspection agencies will be testing for radioactivity in food from Japan for some time. Currently, in Bermuda there are no imported food items from Japan, so no threat exists to Bermuda residents from food tainted by radiation in Japan.”
“In conclusion there is no need for Bermuda residents to be concerned that they will receive harmful doses of radiation from the events presently underway in Japan. The Department of Health will continue to monitor the situation closely and advise the public when appropriate.”