Black Immigrant Daily News

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Over one hundred fifty travel advisors came together in Nassau this week for the American Society of Travel Advisors’ first-ever ASTA Caribbean Showcase 2022, hosted at the reimagined Sandals Royal Bahamian, September 11-14, 2022.

Offering an immersive, educational look at Nassau – a champion of tourism recovery – event highlights included Masters training from Sandals leaders and industry experts; face-to-face interactions with Sandals suppliers, operators and DMCs; and first-hand experiences showcasing the best and what’s new within and around the Bahamian destination to further build a portfolio of offerings for their clients’ next Caribbean vacation. Events included discussions surrounding trends and updates from dignitaries, industry leaders and experts.

Attendees included Bahamas’ Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investment and Aviation, Chester Cooper; host, Sandals Resorts International (SRI) Executive Chairman, Adam Stewart; President of ASTA, Zane Kerby; Sandals Resorts International CEO, Gebhard Rainer; Executive Vice President of Sales and Industry Relations at Unique Vacations, Inc., Gary Sadler; Nicola Madden-Greig, President of Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association; and esteemed airline partners, including Marvin Alvarez Ochoa, American Airlines Caribbean Sales Manager.

Presentations and seminars held throughout the week covered the importance of tourism to the Caribbean and what the destinations are putting in place to meet the demands of today’s travelers; why Travel Advisors should “specialize” as more and more vacation seekers are turning to them for guidance; the massive growth in the demand for destination weddings in the Caribbean; how to pursue the dive market; and more.

Speaking to the audience of travel advisors from North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Stewart spoke on opening day, hinting at additional investments and announcements coming from Sandals before the end of the year, as well as his enthusiasm towards what is coming in the pipeline for the future of Bahamian tourism.

“We are united in our efforts to move the needle, think out of the box, and are looking at every element of the business and reimagining the product. I can tell you this: we are not interested in building anything typical,” said Stewart. “We get up every day believing in the strength of our distribution, in the people who power our hotels, and in our training. We believe in our brand and we especially believe in travel advisors.”

Designed to meet the needs of the travel agency community, ASTA events include local chapter events as well as national and international meetings, creating opportunities for members to connect socially with peers and business partners. Earlier this year, Sandals Resorts was the exclusive sponsor of ASTA’s official events to celebrate Global Travel Advisor Day and the magnificent role travel advisors have played in the industry’s remarkable return to travel.

“Travel advisors are an integral part of the tourism industry and we value and uphold the responsibility and sincere privilege that it is to empower this brilliant community with the resources to continue forging a bright future ahead while selling our magnificent Caribbean to their clients,” said Sadler.

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TTUTA president Antonia De Freitas.

THE Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) has told teachers to report to work only for the second half of the school day on Thursday.

This, it said, is to protest the “continued disrespect” it is experiencing from Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Dr Daryl Dindial over wage negotiations.

On September 5, the first day of the 2022/2023 school year, many teachers followed TTUTA’s call to stay home to rest and reflect on the State’s treatment of the profession.

TTUTA was offered a four per cent increase in salaries, along with other trade unions, but rejected the offer.

It has since been calling on Dindial to meet with it to negotiate further.

On Wednesday, TTUTA first vice president Marlon Seales told Newsday the decision was made after a recent general council meeting.

At that meeting, it was decided that if Dindial did not respond by Monday, teachers would protest.

“We gave him a deadline to respond to our call for negotiations, and a response was not given.”

He said TTUTA had a meeting with the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) on Tuesday, “which revealed he probably didn’t do that with any of the public-sector trade union bodies.

“But TTUTA is seeing about itself.”

Asked if the protest would still be on if the union were to get a response by Thursday morning, Seales said yes.

“Because as a famous saying that I go by (says), ‘While you could choose the action, you can’t choose the consequence.’”

Asked if TTUTA had considered how this action will affect students, he said, “That’s part of the discussion of the general council.

“As much as we are cognisant of our work as professionals, we are also cognisant of our duty as education professionals, because we are not dealing with paper and pushing around paper, we are dealing with the youth and we are dealing with their potential.

“So we took that into consideration. And that’s why, before escalating, we are just signalling to remind the CPO what is the worth of teachers to our country.”

Seales said TTUTA’s actions will not end there if the CPO continues to ignore it.

“Because we are hoping we have a good, open, safe relationship with the office of the CPO, we are hoping we get a timely response so we won’t be forced into a position where we have to escalate and more disruption of the education system occurs.

“The working conditions of the teacher are the learning conditions of our students, and we have to make sure that the education system is in good stead.”

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Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds.

A HIGH COURT judge has refused a request by a criminal defence attorney to abort or adjourn a trial before her in the San Fernando High Court.

On Wednesday Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds denied the defence attorney’s request on behalf of a man on trial for indecent assault against a minor.

The jury trial began on Monday, with jurors being empanelled at the Princes Town Family Court, which is being used to facilitate jury trials from San Fernando.

Prosecutors began their opening address to the jury on Wednesday and the taking of evidence will begin on Friday.

A statement from the Judiciary said Ramsumair-Hinds ordered the trial to proceed despite the defence attorney being in quarantine.

Newsday was told the attorney has not tested positive for covid19, but is a primary contact.

The statement said Ramsumair-Hinds directed the attorney to appear remotely, from his home, for the trial until his quarantine ends, in keeping with new practice directions which allow for cases to be heard in a hybrid mode, both electronically and in person.

The latest directions allow for hybrid hearings and provide an explanation for this type of hearing. At a hybrid hearing, not everyone has to be in the same courtroom at the same time. Witnesses or jurors can appear in a courtroom while judges, the accused and attorneys can appear remotely.

The Judiciary’s statement said it reinforced its commitment to improving access to justice and reducing delays by, among other things, using technology.

It also quoted Monday’s practice directions, in which the Chief Justice “reiterated that the Judiciary must seize the opportunity to use technology to reduce delays and further improve access to justice,” the statement said.

The practice directions said the Judiciary was committed to doing everything necessary to improve access to justice and modernising its operations. It also said it wanted to expand public access to services, creating options to make accessing justice more convenient while reducing the number of people having to physically visit a court building.

In March, practice directions allowed jury trials to resume after a two-year hiatus which was one of the measures to control the spread of covid19.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The closure of The Alleyne School on September 21, 2022, is only temporary.

The Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training is assuring students and their parents and guardians, as well as staff that they are on top of the situation after parts of the library block’s roof came loose with the weather conditions today.

In a statement from the Chief Education Officer, Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw said:

“As a result of high gusts, galvanise sheets were observed lifting off the roof of the library block at The Alleyne School at approximately 8:15 am. Immediately, emergency procedures were put in place to ensure the safety of all students and staff who gathered at the emergency point by the school’s sports hall and playing field. The school was subsequently closed to ensure the safety of students and staff on the compound.”

The company that the Board of Management has contracted to complete the roofing was contacted, arrived on site almost immediately, and assessed the situation. “Based on their findings, the company began corrective action on the roof. They have assured the principal and the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training that the work will be completed by the end of today.”

School for all students and staff at The Alleyne School is set to resume tomorrow, September 22, 2022.

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