Damage has been done – business leaders

Wednesday 27th May 2009, 2:30PM BST.

Paul Meader DAMAGE has already been done to the island’s business community, according to the chairman of the Guernsey International Business Association.

‘People need to be able to rely on the ability to travel on and off the island before placing business here. It also reflects badly on the island’s political ability to handle such disputes,’ said Paul Meader.

He said Giba was frustrated and concerned the situation with the airport firefighters had disintegrated into chaos with the total shutdown of non-emergency flight cover.

‘We are an international finance centre that relies on such essentials as an airport to ensure the free flow of business travellers to and from the island. The closure of the airport will have huge repercussions throughout the island’s business and tourism sectors,’ he said.

Mr Meader (pictured) said that even if a solution were found, much of the damage has already been done.

‘This dispute has gone on far too long. We urge everyone to get round the table to resolve the impasse and for the firefighters to return to work.’

Mr Meader said without adequate transport links there would be no economy here large enough to keep the island afloat or pay for anyone’s wage rise.

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1
Roger

May 27, 2009 at 4:51 pm

I don’t want to excuse the Firefighter’s action in any way, but just why is this different to being fogbound for days on end?

If you live in Guernsey and have a flight planned then you always need to be mindful of the dangers of fog.

I can recall that three years ago I had a trip to the UK planned over the Whitsun weekend. As it happened the airport was fogbound for several days and I ended up on the Condor to Poole.

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2
Jackie

May 28, 2009 at 2:16 pm

Roger

Because only one was entirely avoidable and not sentient and malicious.

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3
David Cranch

May 28, 2009 at 2:18 pm

That’s a fair point, Roger.

Not so far away on the mainland (of Normandy) the right to withdraw labour – which is not enshrined in The Universal Charter of Human Rights, although the right to join a trade union is – is regarded differently.

I think it’s a question of history. In the UK rights may have had to be fought for, but compromise was the ruling force. We seem to adopt English attitudes here. In France they rolled out the guillotines once and that is a lesson that is not easily forgotten.

While I have never withdrawn my labour as an employee, I did once take part in a withdrawal of cooperation at school. It involved the whole of the school and was effective, even being reported in an English newspaper.

I notice, in the reporting of the airport disruptions, several complaining comments. It’s understandable when your travel plans are disrupted. But how many people consider what may be the legitimate complaints of the firemen?

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