Protest delays ferry sailing

THE SCHEDULED sailing of the inter-island ferry MV Beauport was delayed for three hours yesterday after approximately 40 crew members of the vessel withheld labour to protest non-payment of  their March wages.

This was confirmed by Manager, Scarborough and Government Shipping Services (GSS) at the Port Authority of TT (PATT),  Leon Grant, who blamed the non-payment of the wages on bureaucracy. The situation was resolved following a meeting between PATT and the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union (SWWTU) at which the PATT agreed to make an interim payment to the workers by yesterday afternoon. The workers will be receiving their full salaries next week.

Grant pointed out that the PATT was not the workers’ employer, since there was a lease arrangement between the Government and the foreign firm, ISP International Shipping Partner. He said the PATT decided to intervene “as they recognised the importance of the service”. Grant assured passengers booked to travel on the ferry this Easter weekend that they would have no trouble, as the matter had been temporarily resolved.

SWWTU President Michael Annisette confirmed that over 36 crew members withheld labour to protest the non-payment of wages. He said this was an ongoing issue, and the union and PATT had agreed to pay US$200 to the disgruntled workers on the vessel’s return to Trinidad. He said the PATT and SWWTU were seeking a meeting “with the powers that be” to ensure the workers were paid in a timely fashion. Annisette warned that if PATT “should fail to honour or deliver on the agreement arrived at, the union would not be responsible for any action the workers might take”.