Butler gave a diatribe

October 8, 208

Dear Sir,

I think Dale Butler's diatribe regarding those who oppose the renaming of St. David's Primary School was absolutely appalling.

This gentleman seems to forget that he is a servant of the people and therefore honour-bound to listen to the people. I personally do not believe that public buildings should be named after individuals, but if the public wish it, then it should be done.

I'm still trying to figure out what Freddie Wade had to do with aviation, but that's another subject. No one is objecting to the person whose name they wish to put on the building, they just don't want the school renamed, and I agree.

St. David's islanders have made their feelings about this known, but Mr. Butler seems to think we're a bunch of Mohawks whose opinions aren't worth diddly squat!

You know, I used to like Dale Butler but it seems that now the power has gone to his head as it has with many of our ministers, and that's a real shame.

J.C. SIMPSON

St. David's

Keep school's name

October 9 2008

Dear Sir,

As a St. David's Islander, I am irritated over the proposed re-naming of our St. David's Primary School.

St. David's Islanders don't need to "get some history" as Minister Butler lectured us this week. His condescending, impatient words were very much in keeping with attitudes that for centuries saw St. David's Islanders treated as second class citizens, denigrated and ridiculed by the rest of Bermuda, both black and white.

We are well aware of our history. St. David's has long honoured it own, such as the Grover Lamb Day held by the St. David's Cricket Club every Good Friday.

Ours is a history of seamen, pilots, fishermen, whalers, boat builders, cooks, sportsmen and farmers. We have plenty of local heroes such as War Baby Fox, Dennis Lamb and Dolly Pitcher, to name a few.

Instead of taking our name off the school to honour one person, I see this as a good opportunity for the government to do something more constructive and useful. I would like a building picked (maybe at Southside) for a community centre in which our history can be laid out in full for all to see, enjoy and appreciate.

This would go much further to meeting Minister Butler's concerns about people learning the people, the history and traditions that shaped the St. David's community. It could be a community-driven project, with funding support from Mr. Butler's own ministry. That should indicate whether he is serious as his words to us were this week.

In the meantime, St. David's wants to keep the St. David's in the school name. It's our community, and the Government should respect it.

SEAN M. PITCHER

St. David's

Two sides to job losses

October 9, 2008

Dear Sir,

Are we expected to believe that informing the BIU on September 10 of intent to contract to Sovereign, effective on October 6 wasn't adequate notice? Are we to believe that the staff were never notified during that time, even by their own union, that they were surprised to be told they were terminated? I don't think so.

Continental Airlines has one of the best relationships with unions and workforce out of all major US carriers, despite the majority of their workforce being non-union. That has been written about in industry publications and talked about in union circles. Perhaps the BIU was blinded to that given the fact that they fought against their former parent company owner Frank Lorenzo back in the late 80s with Eastern Airlines.

Were their members told that voting to go union will void any previous contracts with the company, pending negotiation and signing of a new one with the BIU? Continental would have to honour the terms of any existing contract as regards to employment, but in this case there was none. That would have been the importance of signing one as soon as possible following the vote back in July 2007, instead of having it drag out for over a year.

The airline industry is going through upheaval these days and like others, Continental is contracting its services out internationally. Did the BIU and local staff think BDA would be immune? And consultation takes place if your contract allows for it. Perhaps they were convinced that because this was Bermuda and they are the BIU, it would never be allowed. Keep in mind that decisions made on operations at the top must be followed by those at the bottom, including local managers and staff.

True, the manner in which letters were sent out may have been hard to take, but did those letters say that they are terminated that day, October 5 or a notice of termination effective the following day the 6 ... the day that Sovereign's contract came into effect? As long as they received their notice within the timeframe set, pay for days worked and severance as per existing contracts, the result is the same despite manner delivered. Oh wait...they didn't have a signed contract.

I see that only four of the former Continental Staff were taken on by Sovereign, was that only the number they needed to add to their workforce or did any other staff members apply and get rejected ... or perhaps not bother apply at all? Continental can not be held to fault for the hiring practice of the contractor, as long as the contract terms are complied with, internal matters of Sovereign are their own and were not obliged to hire any of them.

As a trade unionist, I am sad over the loss of jobs, but there are always two sides to a story and these are some of the questions the information released brought to mind.

ONE PASS UNIONIST

St. David's

Re-think heroes' holiday

October 9, 2008

Dear Sir,

Can someone tell us (I'm sure Bermuda would like to know) why our perfectly fine June holiday was replaced by an October holiday to celebrate national heroes when:

The celebration does not take place on the actual holiday (as one would have expected), and;

Apparently we only have one national hero at the moment, so once this one has been honoured, we may not have another named hero for a few years.

I have my theories. Could it be that the Government:

¦ Wanted to simply stop honouring the Queen by taking away a holiday in her name (given how desperate they are not to be under her reign), and;

¦ Wants to give a day off so that persons can attend a much-publicised PGA event?

Don't get me wrong; there is nothing wrong with recognising the persons who have blazed a trail for other Bermudians. However, there is everything wrong with a Government which has its own agenda and always seems to use underhanded methods to get what they want.

Who's to say we are going to have the PGA event every year? Will it be at the point that the PGA gets pulled from Bermuda that we then start having the national heroes celebration on the actual holiday? After all, we celebrate Bermuda Day on the actual holiday even when May 24 falls on the weekend.

We used to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on the actual holiday (not on the Sunday before they holiday). We celebrate Cup Match on Thursday and Friday – the days we have off.

So why is national heroes day being celebrated on the Sunday before the holiday? Way I see it; we could have had National Heroes day on the second Sunday in October and still had our much preferred June holiday. Better still, National Heroes' Day could have been held on the second Sunday in June given this is closer to the date when Dame Lois Browne-Evans passed away – and she appears to be the only hero on our Government's agenda in the foreseeable future.

MS SMITH

Warwick

What would Dame think?

October 8, 2008

Dear Sir,

Is Government in bed with big business? What would Dame Lois think of this? Just say no to dumpsters!

TRUCKED OFF

Warwick

Fresh blood for Customs

October 6, 2008

Dear Sir,

Recently, Governor Sir Richard Gozney made a statement, according to the daily newspaper, that he believes quite strongly that no one should be able to do his job for more than four years, because it's a tough job; he was referring to the position of Commissioner of Police.

HM Customs and the Bermuda Police Service work hand in hand and the post of Collector of Customs focuses on law enforcement as well. So, will his Excellency also be shaking up the Customs Department by also suggesting that Collector of Customs, Mrs. Winniefred Fostine-DeSilva step aside and welcome the opportunity to retire? After all, she has occupied the top position for approximately ten years.

In all fairness, if the two departments work hand in hand then certainly, based on Sir Richard's comments, what's good for the goose is also good for the gander.

We have to get to the root in order to stop the growth, so in this instance the Customs Department is responsible for ensuring that drugs, guns and other contraband not make it beyond the ports and into the hands of undesirables.

The fact that they are making it past the ports means that some shaking up is definitely necessary in the Customs Department. We cannot hold the Police entirely responsible.

There's no sense complaining about and identifying the problem if the complaints are not going to make it beyond the solution stage.

There needs to be a collective effort to eradicate the problems this island is presently facing. Procrastinating or outright refusing to acknowledge a complaint or even hoping that it would just go away is not the answer.

The Commissioner of Police and the Collector of Customs are not the only individuals in the Civil Service who are eligible for retirement who should, therefore, step aside in favour of new blood and they know who they are.

One problem in the Civil Service, in certain departments, is that there are far too many cliques, and if you don't fit in… forget it. We see people being hired, promoted and given merit awards for the wrong reasons and wonder why the island is in its present state.

Some are allegedly rewarded for remaining silent about issues involving unethical conduct; we must not forget nepotism and cronyism — whatever the reason, it's obviously not the right reason. If this wasn't so, there would be no need to alter job advertisements to accommodate certain individuals or give them the edge over other applicants by grooming them before hand (i.e. assigning them to certain specialised tasks or areas). This practice is unfair to individuals who are not afforded the same opportunity, yet it's supposed to be fair play.

I heard on the news recently that teachers who have a Bachelor's Degree and a minimum of five years experience are on a pay scale equal to that of a civil servant at PS 29.

Why then, is a civil servant who has a Master's Degree with twenty-five years experience stuck on a pay scale of PS 26? I believe nurses also get and an incentive bonus when they obtain educational qualifications. What is wrong with the Bermuda Public Services Union?

It would be interesting to note just how many civil servants are in positions above PS 29 who have absolutely no degree qualifications. It is sickening to know that the BPSU sanction the practice of making special provisions for those who lack degree qualifications or certain job criteria, while on the other hand allow the practice of stalling the individual with degree qualifications and extensive experience.

If individuals are not being rewarded for obtaining educational qualifications in the civil service then what are they being rewarded for?

Back to the Customs Department… how well are they doing at manning all of the ports? The Collector of Customs is responsible for ensuring that the ports are adequately manned, but I'm not sure if they have sufficient properly trained staff to inspect the yachts and private jets, as well as containers on cargo ships, all of which have the potential to transport drugs, guns or other contraband to this island.

How many canines and trained canine handlers does the Customs Department have? We've recently seen a few Bermudians involved in overseas drug arrests and these drugs were quite possibly destined for Bermuda.

Many individuals have been successful with their importation attempts … obviously outwitting the Customs staff.

Who's in charge? The present Collector of Customs, Mrs. Winniefred Fostine-DeSilva has served the department for approximately 38 years so they could definitely use some fresh blood there.

The positions of Assistant Collector of Customs require the individuals to have a Bachelor's Degree and there are presently two individuals who occupy two of those posts who fall short of that requirement.

His Excellency the Governor should now consider taking steps to make changes at the top level of HM Customs as well … at least that's my view.

JENNIFER CAINES

Devonshire

Editor's note: Unlike the Commissioner of Police, the Governor does not have direct responsibility for the appointment of the Collector of Customs.

What an embarrassment

September 8, 2008

Dear Sir,

I attended the SPCA Expo 2008 on Saturday with my two children. The event was well organised and a lot of fun for everyone. However, the state of the Botanical Gardens, in and around the main ring, was deplorable. It looked like someone's back yard which hadn't had any care in months.

There were weeds as tall as my daughter in the "grandstand". Grass was almost reaching the second tier of steps of the bleachers. If one looked over to the hill, across from the "grandstand", the grass looked like it had not been mowed in months. Weeds were growing up the walls and into the steps.

It was a disgrace. This is supposedly our national botanical garden. What an embarrassment!

The Botanical Gardens used to look so pristine and invoked a feeling of pride when one looked at it. My children commented on how terrible the area looked and wondered why no none was taking care of it.

The Minister needs to take a walk around the area and find out who is responsible for this mess and get it cleaned up. I wonder how many visitors to our Island have seen this!

LINDA HINES

Devonshire

True ambassador

September 26, 2008

Dear Sir,

Please allow me the opportunity to rectify a mistake of omission in a letter submitted to The Royal Gazette on September 18 titled "A Wonderful Visit." In my zeal to express my gratitude to the Pink Beach Club and those involved with the excellent operation of said property, I neglected to thank and mention a person who played a very important role in our joyous visit.

This gentleman plays a very important role in the success of the tourism industry. He with his fellow taxi drivers of Bermuda who have seen better days are true ambassadors of Bermuda. The gentleman I speak of is David G. Fox, taxi # 1780. My wife and I spent the day with David in a most enjoyable and informative tour of the Island.

Being born on the Island I thought I knew the Island very well. One place I as a Bermudian had never seen was the American base. Anne and I had the pleasure of seeing a piece of Bermuda that, with some vision and good planning, the possibilities are unlimited and I speak of possibilities for the people of Bermuda! Many other areas we visited were the first time for me! Thank you David for a great day. You are truly a "Qualified Tour Guide," a proud Bermudian who loves his Island, Bermuda. God bless you and your family, mate.

ANNE AND MICHAEL E PITTS

Inverness, Florida