By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, June 24, 2022 – Tens of flights were delayed last Saturday  when firefighters at the Providenciales International Airport went on strike for more than three hours over dissatisfaction with their wage increases.  The strike occurred on one of the busiest days of the year with 35 commercial flights scheduled to land in the Turks and Caicos. All domestic flights and at least two international flights were canceled or held up because of the strike.

Private air carriers also experienced delays. Caicos Express Airways said their morning flights were all delayed and several passengers cancelled due to the delays. Provo Air Center said they had one cancellation (a fuel stop) and four delays with some passengers having to completely reschedule.   Additionally, some commercial passengers got frustrated with the airport and called for charter flights instead.

InterCaribbean Airways had to cancel 10 flights. Blue Heron aviation said the delay did not greatly affect them as they only had one cancellation.  All of this within a three hour timespan on June 18, 2022 when the fire crew at the airport, without warning, took industrial action.

As for the reasoning behind the strike the firefighters say the increase offered to them is comparatively thought to be not as good as it is for others employed by the Airports Authority.

The Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) confirmed the issue around 8:00 am but it is thought to have been affecting the airport from before 7:00 am. The TCIAA told the public they would be ‘temporarily unable to accommodate air traffic’ as flights cannot be given clearance to land without firefighters on-site in case of an accident.

TCIAA officials immediately met with the firefighters in an effort to iron out the issue and restore services and they were successful in reaching a temporary solution the TCIAA confirmed. Firefighters returned to work around 11:18 am but the contents of that meeting have not yetmbeen made public.

Lyndon Gardiner, Chairman of interCaribbean Airways praised the swift resolution between the two teams noting that in the past similar action had spread over days causing massive delays. Firefighters have had to resort to industrial action several times in the last 4 years. They were on strike in August 2019 and again in May 2021 both times resulted in much longer delays.

The travelling public was well aware of the strike commented on sites like TripAdvisor (the world’s largest travel website) immediately picked up on the issue. Tourist comments on the site ranged from outraged to disappointed.

“A total mess. What an embarrassment for TCI Tourism and waste of time and money for so many,” one individual lamented.

Another who appeared to be on the island said, “How awful for those trying to get here. (And I hope this is cleared up by Tuesday when we are set to return home.) I saw that the early Jet Blue flight out of JFK this morning made it halfway to Providenciales before being diverted back to JFK.”

Just after 11 a.m. one person who seemed to have been caught up in the incident said, “I am one of the ones stuck now hearing the PLS airport is open again. But we are already canceled and back with our luggage in a long ticketing line trying to see if they will do a special flight later today or tomorrow.  This is after being in the air for over an hour and returning to Boston.  JB has been waiting for the go-ahead since we came back at about 8:30 am from the

Turks govt to see if the flight can come in on a new schedule. Huge black eye for Turks. What a huge upset for all these folks and families…. Pay the firefighters a fair wage.”

Despite this the TCIAA spoke directly to the public, noting that they had the firefighter & #39;s best interest at heart and said the firefighters were upset because their pay increases would be staggered.

“The TCIAA wishes to advise that it has and continues to prioritize improving work conditions and salaries/wages at the TCIAA. Today’s industrial action occurred without any formal notice issued to the TCIAA and in response to a recent announcement by the TCIAA to its staff that it was immediately introducing a phased salary increase to all staff. To this end, the fire service received a 15 percent increase to be applied to all staff within the department. The announcement advised that this 15 percent increase was the first step of a two-part process leading to the introduction of a salary grading scale, during which time an additional increase was to be anticipated, ”  a press release explained.

The TCIAA did not explain whether they had consulted with the firefighters on the nature of the increase and if it was a workable solution for them.  The TCIAA say they are working to upgrade the fire tower to make employees more comfortable and would be working with the government on increases as the staff deserved it.