Prison workers sick and tired of no pay
By Martina Johnson - Tuesday, July 16th, 2013.
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ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Wardens at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) allegedly suffering poor health due to being frequently forced to work 36 to 40 hours non-stop, are lamenting non-payment of overtime.
The officers recalled that National Security Minister Dr Errol Cort pledged to take the issue of overtime pay to Cabinet since April, but to date they have not received a cent.
Responding to the officers’ complaint, the minister yesterday said, “the relevant paper work is currently being processed.”
He did not give a timeline within which the wardens should expect payment.
One warden complained, “We are being forced to work a week’s work in just two days, 40 hours straight and it cannot be right. When we work those shifts we are extremely tired and frustrated and cannot function properly. And when we get sick we lose money because it comes out in doctor’s fees.”
But, since wardens fall under the Essential Services Act, 2008, they cannot stage strike action to force the hands of the authorities, a prison officer lamented.
“We can’t do anything. Our backs are against a wall here,” he said.
The wardens expressed hope they’d be paid shortly and that Cabinet’s promise to take on additional prison officers would also be fulfilled in weeks ahead.
If all goes according to plan, Dr Cort said 25 new wardens would join the prison staff within the next two weeks.
As it stands now, Her Majesty’s Prison, built to accommodate 150 inmates, has over 360 prisoners. They are managed by about 67 prison staff.
(More in today’s Daily OBSERVER)
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Wardens at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) allegedly suffering poor health due to being frequently forced to work 36 to 40 hours non-stop, are lamenting non-payment of overtime.
The officers recalled that National Security Minister Dr Errol Cort pledged to take the issue of overtime pay to Cabinet since April, but to date they have not received a cent.
Responding to the officers’ complaint, the minister yesterday said, “the relevant paper work is currently being processed.”
He did not give a timeline within which the wardens should expect payment.
One warden complained, “We are being forced to work a week’s work in just two days, 40 hours straight and it cannot be right. When we work those shifts we are extremely tired and frustrated and cannot function properly. And when we get sick we lose money because it comes out in doctor’s fees.”
But, since wardens fall under the Essential Services Act, 2008, they cannot stage strike action to force the hands of the authorities, a prison officer lamented.
“We can’t do anything. Our backs are against a wall here,” he said.
The wardens expressed hope they’d be paid shortly and that Cabinet’s promise to take on additional prison officers would also be fulfilled in weeks ahead.
If all goes according to plan, Dr Cort said 25 new wardens would join the prison staff within the next two weeks.
As it stands now, Her Majesty’s Prison, built to accommodate 150 inmates, has over 360 prisoners. They are managed by about 67 prison staff.
(More in today’s Daily OBSERVER)
LIALPA: LIAT talks productive
By OBSERVER media - Tuesday, July 16th, 2013.
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Chairman of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) captain Carl Burke.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Chairman of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) captain Carl Burke described emergency talks held yesterday, to prevent flight disruptions for LIAT, as productive.
The airline’s CEO Ian Brunton called LIALPA to the bargaining table at the last minute on Sunday evening after the union announced plans on OBSERVER Radio to hold an emergency meeting of pilots.
The meeting would have disrupted eight flights due to leave Antigua yesterday morning with severe effects expected throughout the network for LIAT and other airlines.
An agreement is yet to be reached but Burke said the “productive” discussions would continue today (Tuesday).
“We managed to cover a lot of ground today (Monday) and we anticipate we will be moving further ahead in our negotiations,” the LIALPA chairman said.
“I am not certain if they will wrap up tomorrow, but I anticipate we will be wrapping them up shortly. Over the next couple of weeks I anticipate they will be finished.”
The pilots are bargaining for increased pay and better working conditions in order to fly the new ATR aircraft, which have been chosen to replace the Dash-8 planes in LIAT’s US $100 million re-fleeting exercise.
(More in today’s Daily OBSERVER)
Chairman of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) captain Carl Burke.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Chairman of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) captain Carl Burke described emergency talks held yesterday, to prevent flight disruptions for LIAT, as productive.
The airline’s CEO Ian Brunton called LIALPA to the bargaining table at the last minute on Sunday evening after the union announced plans on OBSERVER Radio to hold an emergency meeting of pilots.
The meeting would have disrupted eight flights due to leave Antigua yesterday morning with severe effects expected throughout the network for LIAT and other airlines.
An agreement is yet to be reached but Burke said the “productive” discussions would continue today (Tuesday).
“We managed to cover a lot of ground today (Monday) and we anticipate we will be moving further ahead in our negotiations,” the LIALPA chairman said.
“I am not certain if they will wrap up tomorrow, but I anticipate we will be wrapping them up shortly. Over the next couple of weeks I anticipate they will be finished.”
The pilots are bargaining for increased pay and better working conditions in order to fly the new ATR aircraft, which have been chosen to replace the Dash-8 planes in LIAT’s US $100 million re-fleeting exercise.
(More in today’s Daily OBSERVER)
ALP Deputy Chairman wants One Labour Party
By OBSERVER media - Tuesday, July 16th, 2013.
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Senator Paul ‘Chet’ Greene
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Deputy Chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) Senator Paul ‘Chet’ Greene wants a single Labour Party to contest the upcoming general elections.
The opposition senator made the statement on OBSERVER Radio’s Voice of the Peopleprogramme on Monday. His statement follows the formation of the splinter group – the Antigua & Barbuda True Labour Party.
“Every opportunity should be made to heal the party to the extent that there is a single Antigua & Barbuda Labour Party going into the next general elections,” Greene said.
“Any third party that will provide a possibility of this country not getting a change in government will be a travesty,” he added.
In April, political analyst Peter Wickham warned that if the upcoming election comes down to a battle for a few votes, the division could cost the ALP a chance at leading the country.
But Greene said he is confident that the differences that led to the formation of the party by Vere Bird III can be settled.
“I have every belief that we can sit as big people, as responsible people … we can sit and resolve any issues that might exist,” Greene said.
“I can only suggest that persons who are now speaking about a third party – which is a splinter group from the main ALP, reconsider their thinking, action and activities and reconnect to the ALP.”
Last week retired teacher Sharlene Samuel was chosen as the political leader of the Antigua & Barbuda True Labour Party.
The party is chaired by attorney-at-law Vere Bird III who is the grandson of Antigua & Barbuda’s first premier and first prime minister Vere Bird.
(More in today’s Daily OBSERVER)
LIAT pilots call off action
Major disruption to a number of LIAT flights scheduled to depart Antigua today has been averted.
Inquest concludes shooting death was accidental
By Martina Johnson - Monday, July 15th, 2013.
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ST JOHN’S, Antigua – An inquest has returned a verdict of accidental death in the case of Clebert “Kerry” Bell, a Jamaican who died two days after he was shot by police in the Potters Public Cemetery on May 20, 2008.
Jurors at the inquest made their decision late last week after hearing extensive evidence from residents, police and medical experts, among others.
On the heels of the death, residents had called for an inquiry as they accused police of using unnecessary, deadly force.
On the day of the incident, four officers were responding to a report from a woman who alleged Bell had bitten her on her breast three days prior.
During the proceedings, jurors heard that two of the officers, who went in search of the man on May 20, were armed with a .38 pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun.
On arrival in Potters, they saw an individual matching the description given by the female complainant.
The officers said they called the man who turned out to be Bell, and after a brief conversation with him, he allegedly ran. Three officers gave chase while the fourth said he remained in the police vehicle.
One of them said he lost sight of Bell and his other colleagues, but a man later told him in which direction the trio had gone.
The officer said he heard two explosions and later saw Bell sitting on the ground with blood on his pants.
The officer who had remained in the vehicle, said he received information about the incident and joined his three colleagues and the suspect on the scene where they awaited the arrival of the ambulance.
Bell was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery. He died around mid-morning on May 22.
Dr Lester Simon, government pathologist, had told the jurors 32-year-old Bell died as a result of exsanguination (bleeding out) due to a laceration of the left femoral artery (large artery in the thigh).
His report, which was based on his medical examination of the body during post-mortem, revealed there were eight puncture wounds on the body. Two bullets, one fragmented and one whole, were removed from the body.
Dr Simon indicated those puncture wounds were found on the left forearm, chest, abdomen, left groin, two to the back of the left thigh and outer left thigh, below the hipbone.
Of importance the same time, he noted there were several (medical) incisions (cuts) that had been sutured (sewn).
Those incisions were found in the left upper thigh – below the groin and in the left groin extending from the left hip to the base of the penis and continuing along the inner aspect of the left thigh.
The findings bring an end to an investigation into the actions of the officer who shot Bell. The lawman, who was reportedly pulled from active duty for a short time following the incident, remains on the job.
When asked his thoughts on the outcome of the inquest, Commissioner Vere Browne said, “In our democracy, the jury has assessed the facts and made a determination. I need not comment any further.”
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