Holiday: ‘UFA wants yet
another independent test’
~ UFA: Holiday not qualified ~
AIRPORT--It wasn’t the Princess Juliana International Airport operation company PJIAE that requested the Bureau Telecommunication & Post (BT&P) investigation on radiation at the Air Traffic Control, but the union representing the air traffic controllers, PJIAE president Eugene Holiday said correcting a slight misprint by The Daily Herald in yesterday’s article on the issue.
Holiday added saying, however, that now the BT&P test results are in the United Federation of the Windward Antilles UFA doesn’t want to accept the results of the investigation. “It was the union that asked for an independent investigation through the mediator. Now that the results are in, they are requesting the Minister of Transport and Telecommunication for another independent investigation,” Holiday said.
He indicated once again that before the Air Traffic Control was handed over, tests were done and the building was found safe. “The airport conducts its own investigations, but the union don’t want to accept them. That’s why they asked for an independent investigation and now they want yet another one.”
Meanwhile in a letter to Holiday, UFA reacted to comments made by the PJIAE president on the issue. According to the union, Holiday is not qualified and they claim that the radiation tests carried out by BT&P weren’t independent.
UFA believes there is conflict of interest because BT&P is a prominent PJIAE client. Furthermore, the union pointed out that the test was done without the presence of mediator Kenneth Lopes and UFA.
“The test was carried out only for the A.T.S. facility workers and a few meters from the facility and not the entire Maho area,” the UFA letter signed by advisor Willy Haze and President Lionel Boasman stated.
UFA also points out the misprint on who requested the BT&P test stating that it was the workers through the union and via Kenneth Lopes who requested the test. Additionally, the union doubts that PJIAE’s policy is to create the best possible working conditions for the workers, saying that when the workers first requested the radiation test they were ridiculed, insulted and told that they would have to pay for it themselves.
The union again complained about Holiday’s refusal to remove the staircase obstruction the 360 degrees visibility, the deplorable access road leading to the Air Traffic Control, and the department being understaffed.
“You term it as low staffing, vacations are denied and people are constantly being shifted around to accommodate management to the extent that the Air Traffic Controllers’ social life is taken away from them and even rest hours are infringed upon. The air traffic controllers are interrogated and harassed when sick,” the letter stated.
Finally, the union said in its letter the workers never received the requested vending machines for drinks and snacks or cable television for the break room proving that Holiday is better at cost saving and being an economist than a manger. “Bluntly put, you are not qualified. For example, you have assigned managers without proper training and when you have delegated work to them, you still undermine them by overruling them and giving no say, which is the action of a dictator.”
