Caribbean
Electricity workers refuse work in Trinidad and Tobago
Two Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (TTEC) Customer Service Centres remained closed yesterday because most of the employees did not show up for work.
According to a press release issued by TTEC, Point Fortin and Couva Service Centres remained closed while Scarborough centre was manned by a small number of employees. Distribution areas were also affected by high absenteeism levels as most field workers did not report for work, stated the release.
The Many Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, and the Atlantic Working Class in the Eighteenth Century
Article on class struggle and compositon in the period leading up to and during the American revolution, showing how the struggles of sailors and slaves drove the movement to national liberation.
Introduction
Pirate utopias: Under the banner of death, 1640-1820
An interesting look at the life and times of pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries. This article explores the somewhat libertarian and communalist values which guided the life of a pirate during those years.
"In an honest Service, there is thin Commons, low Wages, and hard Labour; in this, Plenty and Satiety, Pleasure and Ease, Liberty and Power; and who would not ballance Creditor on this Side, when all the Hazard that is run for it, at worst, is only a sower Look or two at choaking. No, a merry Life and a short one shall be my Motto" - Pirate Captain Bartholomew Roberts.(1)
Trinidad: Nurses on work-to-rule
Nurses have been told to work to rule at medical institutions from today.
It came yesterday as the Public Services Association criticised what it called the "reckless behaviour" of Health Minister John Rahael following the dismissal of two of the nurses involved in an incident during where baby Justin Paul was burnt at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex.
Junior doctors strike in Barbados
Junior doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) are planning to take industrial action today.
The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) and the junior doctors decided yesterday that all elective surgery would be stopped today, including those at the polyclinics. However, union president Walter Maloney said last night people with chronic problems would be treated.
Bahamas sick-out may end
For the second day in a row, staff members in the engineering department at the Princess Margaret Hospital called in sick yesterday in protest at a delay in their hazardous pay.
However, all "sick" employees may be reporting for duty as usual today after discussions with management, who assured workers that the hazardous pay was on the way, said sources working in the Maintenance Department.
"They had a meeting with management, [the protest] was only for two days and everyone should be back [Thursday] morning," the source told The Guardian.
Bahamas: Hospital workers stage mass 'sickie'
Nearly 80 percent of the staff of the Princess Margaret Hospital's engineering department called in sick yesterday to protest a delay in their long awaited hazardous pay, said union officials.
Around half a dozen supervisors and staff in the Maintenance and Bio Medical building were forced to carry out the duties of a normally 30-plus member crew when more than 20 workers called in sick on Tuesday, said the hospital's administrator Coralee Adderley.
Jamaican labour minister intervenes to try and avert hotel strike
Labour Minister Derrick Kellier has scheduled a meeting for tomorrow with contractors, as well as the two major trade unions representing the more than 2,000 workers at the Fiesta Hotel site in Hanover, in light of a threat by disgruntled workers to lock down the project.
Kellier, who was making his first appearance yesterday at a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House since he was appointed minister just more than a year ago, is expected to chair the meeting, which will involve representatives of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and the National Workers Union (NWU), as well as the two main contractors on the site.
Trinidad: air traffic controllers on "sick out"
Air traffic controllers in Trinidad called in sick en-masse over the weekend due to the slow pace of negotiations for their first collective contract.
The mass sickie was called on Saturday, with very little information available.
The Airport Authority first said that things were running as normal, but later admitted to "high absenteeism" stating that this was not the first time it had happened.
Barbados: Publishing workers on wildcat strike
Workers at the Nation Publishing company walked out on strike on Tuesday following the sacking of a co-worker.
Cbc.bb reported that the action stems from the dismissal last week, and what employees claim is management's refusal to follow established industrial relations practices.
The near 60 workers walked out of the advertising and editorial departments around three o'clock this afternoon protesting the dismissal of colleague Orlando Holder.
