Workers, ICIs protest planned Air J sale to Trinidad

DOZENS of Air Jamaica staff and informal commercial importers (ICIs) yesterday staged a protest outside the Air Jamaica building in downtown Kingston over the Government's plan to sell the airline to Trinidad-owned Caribbean Airlines.

The workers, some bearing placards with messages describing the authorities as "sell-outs", said the protest was the first in a series to voice their dissatisfaction with the decision.

They said they want the airline to be sold to them.

"They (Government) ought to take a step back and consider the plight of the Jamaican people, consider how the sale will affect the economy, and how much we depend on tourism and the airline," said Khurt Fletcher, chief delegate and reservation officer at Air Jamaica.

"I have been involved with Air Jamaica for over 10 years and it is my firm belief that based on the fact that over the last year we have been making an operating profit, we can sustain it," Fletcher continued.

"If we give it to Caribbean Airlines, then right off the bat you have some 900 to a thousand jobs lost, and as a spin-off everyone -- the farm workers, the students, higglers, will be affected," he said.

One concerned flight attendant said the Government was reducing Jamaica to a "faceless little island with nothing to call their own".

"It is just disrespectful that he (Prime Minister Bruce Golding) never came and even speak with the people of the country first," she said. "And the fact that he ignored the pilots' offer just shows that should any other issue come up, that's the same way they are going to deal with it."

But although infuriated, the workers' composure was in stark contrast to that of Joyce Pinnock, who said she makes a living by exporting goods to Curaçao. The woman was almost brought to tears as she publicly voiced her disgust with the Government's plan.

"I buy Jamaican produce to bring to Jamaicans in Curaçao and take back that foreign exchange to my country. What am I going to do now without the services of Air Jamaica?" she asked, her face a canvas of fury.

"The same Bruce Golding that we put inside there to lead is throwing us on our faces. It is not fair. What am I going to do? Can I go to his house and say 'prime minister I am hungry?" she asked.

According to a cop at the scene, for the most part yesterday's protest, which was carried out during the workers' lunch break, was peaceful.

This was the aim, according to vice-president of the National Workers Union Granville Valentine, who was among the protesters.

"We are hoping that the Government starts to listen to the voice of the people and realise the interest and the inclusion of all the stakeholders seriously before any final decision is made," he said, adding that the protests will continue.

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