CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Caribbean Community leaders were Wednesday paying tribute to Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez who died Tuesday after a prolonged battle with cancer.
St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony said that the significance of Chavez's death "looms very large" for several Caribbean states especially those that shared a close working relationship with his administration.
Saint Lucia
NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC - The Ministry of Transport and Aviation says a Haitian “sloop” confiscated during a recent drug enforcement operation had sunk in the harbour of Inagua on Sunday, spilling more than 200 gallons of a mixture of oil and diesel fuel into the water.
It said that incident occurred during the night when the 75 foot wooden vessel sank in adverse weather conditions.
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – The St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (CCIA) Monday called for an end to the industrial action by public servants who are demanding higher salaries from the Kenny Anthony administration.
CCIA executive director Brian Louisy urged both the Government Negotiating Team (GNT) and the unions representing teachers and public servants to return to the bargaining table.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The Antigua-based regional airline, LIAT, Monday announced it had been forced to suspend flights to St. Lucia where public servants have taken industrial action to force the government to increase their salaries and wages.
A brief statement from the cash-strapped airline did not say how many flights were being suspended but said that the suspension was due to the absence of fire services at the George F. Charles Airport on the outskirts of the capital.
“LIAT wishes to apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the statement added.
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony Monday appealed to public workers to accept his government’s four per cent wage increase and prevent the island from “any further hardship” as workers stayed away from their jobs for higher salaries.
"Our country does not need mayhem, confusion and disagreement at this time, our people need to get together, we have a crisis on our hands to deal with and it is critical and crucial that we come together deal with it, but very clearly it has to be a shared responsibility across the board," Anthony said.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Public servants took to the streets in Castries on Friday in support of demands for higher wages that the government of Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony said it cannot afford.
The workers are seeking a six per cent wage hike with benefits or a nine per cent increase, but Anthony said the government could only afford a four per cent wage increase and warned of retrenchment within the public service if the increase is any higher.
CASTRIES, St.Lucia, CMC-Prime Minister Kenny Anthony says the negotiations between Government and Public Sector Unions have reached an impasse and has recommended that the issue be sent to arbitration.
In an address to the nation on Wednesday Anthony said the government is unable to improve on the 4% offered to the Trade Union Federation which is seeking an increase of 6 or 9.5% with conditions. As a result Dr. Anthony said the government’s option is either wage restraint or retrenchment.
CASTRIES, St.Lucia, Feb. 28, CMC - Opposition Leader Stephenson King wants St.Lucia's Ambassador to the United Nations recalled following what he described as an embarrassing ordeal with the island losing its voting rights as a result of outstanding monies owed to the body. King told a news conference Wednesday that the development was an embarrassment not only for the government but the people of St.Lucia. He said that the excuses being made by Ambassador Menissa Rambally are quite "disappointing and astounding" and she should be immediately recalled.
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony will address the nation on Wednesday as public workers stayed away from their jobs for a second consecutive day “resting and recuperating.” The Trade Union Federation (TUF) is seeking a 9.5 per cent wage increase for the workers, including teachers, but the government has said it could only afford a four per cent salary hike for the 2010-12 triennium.
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC-Public servants are gearing up for some form of industrial action on the eve of Friday's 34th anniversary of independence, as they move to express their disappointment over Government's failure to resolve a pay dispute. Teachers, civil servants, and nurses were meeting at separate locations on Thursday, to discuss their next move as they claimed that time had ran out for government to resolve the protracted 2010-2012 triennium agreement.