STAFF MEMBERS of the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) have pledged solidarity with the stance of the Association in relation to its acquisition of shares in Kingston Wharves Limited and its effort to gain representation on the board of Kingston Wharves Limited. In recent times, the SAJ's Property Company has been at the centre of a storm regarding its attempts to gain representation on the KWL.
The SAJ Property Company has the third largest shareholding in the public wharf company, having recently acquired some of the shares formerly held by Lascelles.
Since 1999, when the Association owned a smaller percentage of shares, it has been seeking representation on the Board of KWL, without any favourable response. However, having acquired a larger shareholding through purchase of shares from Grace Kennedy Pension and Lascelles, the Association and other minor shareholders recently requested an extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders, after several attempts to reach a compromise with the existing KWL Board failed. The EGM has been set for February 18, 2003 at the Jamaica Conference Centre.
The Association at a recent meeting with staff provided an update on its efforts to gain representation on the KWL Board. The consensus from staff was that the SAJ's involvement at the Board level would undoubtedly be beneficial to KWL, as the Association's membership represents a wide-cross section of the Shipping Industry, and the Association was well poised to support the development of the Port of Kingston.
The workers felt the Association was being quite reasonable in its demand for representation on the Board of KWL and expressed their full support for the initiative.
