The Hon. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves (centre), Prime Minister of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, offically opened the fourth Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference. Pictured with him are CorahAnn Robertson Sylvester, president of the Caribbean Shipping Association, and Harry Maragh, president of the Shipping Association of Jamaica.
"THE JOINT Industrial Council (JIC) is the mainstay of stability at the Port of Kingston and I recommend this system of industrial relations to other Caribbean ports," stated Alvin Sinclair, assistant island supervisor of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), during his presentation at the Caribbean Shipping Association's (CSA) fourth Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference, held in St. Vincent and the Grenadines last week.
The JIC for Port Bustamante is the first of its kind in the Caribbean and was constituted in 1952 with the objective of promoting collaboration and cooperation between management and labour. Represented on the JIC are: the Shipping Association of Jamaica, its members and the unions representing port workers the BITU, the Trade Union Congress and the United Port Workers Union.
TROTMAN'S CHARGE
Sinclair noted that the Port of Kingston's JIC was pivotal in sensitising all workers and operators of Port Bustamante to the fact that 'what is good for the port is good for Jamaica'. He told representatives of Caribbean shipping companies and organisations that it was his hope that the tradition of cooperation achieved at the Port of Kingston would continue throughout the Caribbean.
Senator Sir Roy Trotman, general secretary of the Barbados Workers Union, also made a presentation on 'Trade Unionism & Port Operations Within the Caribbean' at the CSA executives conference. He called for "a reduction in arrogance and an increase in consultationî in the industrial relations process at Caribbean ports" and noted that "the building of a multi-skilled, efficient workforce is essential for port viability in the region."
