Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

CJIA left without air traffic control

Jan 16, 2009 News

The refusal of the air traffic controllers to go beyond the call of duty led to the absence of a controller from the aerodrome and approach service at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, yesterday at about 16:30 hours. The situation effectively shutdown the airport because without such a service no aircraft could land or take off.
At the time the supervisor was Roy Sukhu who was manning another area of operation. Reports from the control tower stated that the officer on duty had gone on duty early in the morning and was scheduled to be relieved at 16:00 hours.  However, given the shortage of air traffic controllers, there was no immediate replacement.
A source said that Sukhu began to insist that the controller work until 18:00 hours when a replacement might have been solicited but the officer indicated that he was in no mental state to undertake work over the longer than necessary period.
The Director of Civil Aviation was duly notified but there remained the vacuum.
Just the day before, a female controller had completed a 24-hour stint having reported for duty at 8:00 hours that day and working at one station until 16:00 hours then moving to man the aerodrome and approach services from 16:00 hours until 8:00 hours yesterday.
The staff who walked off yesterday reportedly rushed to seek medical attention after refusing the order of Supervisor Sukhu.
A source said that at this time, three or four of the traffic controllers have reported sick and the others say that they are not prepared to work outside their schedule as indicated by the roster.
Head of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Zulfikar Mohamed, could not be reached for comment but the air traffic controllers insisted that they had declared no industrial action.  The air traffic controllers say that they are not prepared to make sacrifices because the government has refused to honour its financial obligation to them.
The air traffic controllers had been threatening strike action over monies owed to them by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
They accused the GCAA of unfairly deducting various sums from their pay packets. The GCAA had said that funds were not immediately available, and that the matter would have been resolved as soon as the administration had attended to the GCAA bank balances.
The air traffic controllers sought the intervention of Minister Robeson Benn, who ruled that, instead of paying some members of staff monies dating back to several years, he would have paid a non-prejudicial, one-off bonus.
Since this sum would have represented a decrease in their emoluments, the Guyana Association of Air Traffic Control Officers (GAATCO) rejected the offer and threatened industrial action. Some of the workers immediately reported sick.
Following this, the Government decided to pay the air traffic controllers.
The air traffic controllers are contending that, after they agreed to resume duties, Minister Benn reneged on his commitment and decided that there would be no increase in their remuneration.
There were reports that the GAATCO had signed to this effect, but officials of this entity debunked such rumours, saying that they had never seen, much less agreed to, the arrangement.
This is just another one of the problems facing the ATCs of Guyana, adding to the deplorable condition of the equipment in the ATC Tower at the CBJ International Airport.

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | November, 20th, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Rutherford gets big payday from Gujarat Titans at IPL 2025 Mega Auction; Shepherd, Powell snapped up by RCB and KKR, respectively

Rutherford gets big payday from Gujarat Titans at IPL 2025 Mega...

Nov 26, 2024

  SportsMax – Guyanese hard-hitting left hander Sherfane Rutherford will get the opportunity to shine on T20 franchise cricket’s biggest stage once again after being picked up by the...
Read More
Roach and Seales star as West Indies close in on Antigua Test victory

Roach and Seales star as West Indies close in on...

Nov 26, 2024

Delroy Tyrrell continues to excel at Oneonta State University

Delroy Tyrrell continues to excel at Oneonta...

Nov 26, 2024

Ramdass Royals Crowned Champions of the Inaugural Windies Masters Cricket Extravaganza

Ramdass Royals Crowned Champions of the Inaugural...

Nov 26, 2024

KFC Guyana distance self from delayed payment of GFF Elite League prizes

KFC Guyana distance self from delayed payment of...

Nov 26, 2024

Ravens and Royals ready for epic Elite 16 final showdown

Ravens and Royals ready for epic Elite 16 final...

Nov 26, 2024

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]