Dominica: The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica interacted with the media regarding the recent protest staged by the Tipper Truckers Association. The Truckers Association had been showing their dissatisfaction with the government for the lack of jobs for the local truckers.
They argued that the government had been delegating their jobs to international workers leaving limited number of jobs for local youngsters. The Prime Minister said that he had not had variance with the argument of the protest.
He noted that he does not intend to argue with their stand. The Prime Minister acknowledged that anybody, any citizen of the country would want to get the best deal that they can manage out of a business relationship.
The prime minister acknowledged that it is the point of contention for the truckers association. He said that they want to make sure that they have the best deal available to them which will be profitable for them.
The Prime Minister also confirmed during the radio interview that there a lot of work needing truckers and transport. The Prime Minister highlighted that there is work on all the sites, in this case, they are talking about the work at the international airport site.
The Prime Minister said that the tipper truckers association is talking about the transportation of cement from the WoodBridge Bayport to the airport site. He said that for the construction we are utilizing a significant amount of cement.
He revealed that we have to mix cement with the soil for compacting so that it can it could dry faster. For the cement to be properly compact a significant amount of cement has to be transported from the bayport to the site.
The Prime Minister highlighted that local truckers spoke to him regarding the negotiations. He highlighted the numbers and negotiations that took place during the PM’s visit. At the end of the explanation, he said that we have truckers who working on all government sites.
These sites include the airport site, the a cable car project, housing projects all over the country. He said that he understands the truckers need to make profits. He also acknowledged that the tipper truckers association and the government have reached a closure for the deal.
However, some elements are still at large in the truckers association protest. All the truckers who were part of the protest were not part of the tippers truckers association. He has met with the executives of the Tipper Truckers Association and spoken to them in regard with this protest they staged.
Prime Minister of Dominica wants to commend the police for the manner in which they conducted themselves. He said that the extraordinary restraint which they demonstrated throughout the course of the protest.
He acknowledged that, “If you were in the United States of America or you were in France or you were in the United Kingdom with such protest action would have been taken by the police very early.”
He noted that “Once you once you get into a situation where you are impeding the movement of people and you are trampling on the rights of freedom of movements of people then the police are obligated to intervene and to ensure that the rights of citizens are not trampled upon.
He stated during his interview that people have to get to work people have to get to school or their businesses. People have to get from one Health Center to a hospital so once you once you prevent that from happening the police has a duty and obligation under the law to to maintain Law and Order and and ensure that the rights of people of citizens are protected.
As such, PM Roosevelt Skerrit highlighted that the police could have acted in the manner which is required of them by law and by training.
However, the Prime Minister applauded the fact that throughout the day they exercised tremendous restraint. The Prime Minister was proud of the fact that the Police was able to maintain the hope that the protest would be solved with peace.