| TCHTA wants to help avoid further strikes | | Print | |
| Friday, 23 March 2012 10:18 | |||
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Local tourism industry leaders have formed a committee to mediate between tourism businesses, government employees and the Turks and Caicos Islands government in hopes of avoiding strikes like those that shut down Providenciales International Airport twice in the past year. At a March 15 meeting, members of the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association (TCHTA) created a Liaison Committee, headed by Dr. Carlton Mills, that intends to have regular meetings with the Civil Service Association (CSA), which represents many government employees. The association also plans to hold annual job fairs and apprenticeship programs and to establish community outreach projects. “More than ever, we must work together as a community to preserve the tourism industry and protect our core missions,” said TCHTA President Karen Whitt. “I am determined that we will emerge from these times on course, united, and with a renewed focus on excellence.” The Tourist Board also has membership on the Liaison Committee. “We are pleased with the support that this new committee is purposed to provide, when our tourism industry and indeed our nation is faced with similar challenges in the future,” said Tourism Director Ralph Higgs. “The Tourist Board is also excited about its membership on the committee, which hopes to work with the CSA and the government to help prevent any future industrial action or lessen the fallout from them on our guests, our residents and the economy. The Tourist Board believes that having improved lines of communication between all parties is critical for survival of the Turks and Caicos economy.” Some airport firefighters, who are civil servants, refused to work March 10, causing several inbound and outbound commercial flights had to be canceled or postponed. Hundreds of tourists were stranded, forcing them to stay an extra day or two. That caused problems at many resorts which didn’t have enough rooms to accommodate them. Firefighters from smaller airports on the other islands replaced those striking on Providenciales to get commercial flights back in the air, but those smaller airports had to be closed to air traffic over the weekend. The strike ended March 11 with firefighters and government agreeing to work through their differences. On March 24, 2011, some firefighters joined a “sick out” by hundreds of government workers protesting changes to the civil service, causing similar flight delays and cancellations for one day.
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