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Caribbean L 14 ife, Oct. 2-8, 2020
CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
existing curfew as it seeks to curb the
spread of the COVID-19 virus that has
so far infected more
than 5,000 people.
Prime Minister
Andrew Holness, speaking
at a virtual news
conference, said the curfew, which
runs from 8 pm to 5 am daily will
remain in place until Oct. 7 and urged
persons not to seek to violate the
measure.
Holness told reporters that the
business community and the traveling
public have expressed some concerns
regarding the start of the curfew, but
noted that where the new measures
will not affect production and output,
private sector and public sector businesses
should allow employees to work
from home.
He said the government has put in
place measures designed to prevent
movement “because ultimately the
virus does not have legs of its own.”
The prime minister said he was
also being very careful in indicating
the government understands how the
pandemic works, given that it had to
take into consideration the possibility
of deaths and other situations that
could occur.
Suriname
Suriname has devalued its dollar by
nearly 90 percent against the US dollar.
One US dollar now fetches $7.46
of the South American
country’s currency.
Following the
announcement last
week, the price of fuel,
which has been subsidized by successive
governments over the years, saw a
dramatic increase.
The subsidy was recently abolished
by the newly-appointed government.
Previously fuel was imported on the
basis of the official exchange rate with
the US dollar.
Immediately after the devaluation
was announced, the two telecommunications
companies increased their
rates- something that has not happened
since 2016. As a result, the rates
of Digicel and Telesur will increase by
almost 90 percent.
The companies state they have been
forced to adjust the rates of their
services.
The Association of Suriname Businesses
has asked the government to
lower the price of diesel.
It warned that the effect of the
increased diesel prices will lead to an
enormous increase in costs for the
Surinamese population, as most of
the transportation sector relies on
diesel fuel.
Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago-owned Caribbean
Airlines Limited (CAL) is moving
to reduce its salary bill by sending
some employees on no-pay leave,
reducing the salaries
of others and temporarily
laying off some
workers.
Airline officials say
the move is to keep the airline operational
and is in line with cost-cutting
that has been implemented in many
airlines around the world in international
travel caused by the COVID-19
pandemic.
Since COVID-19 hit the Caribbean
in March 2020, the airline’s flights and
its revenue have declined drastically
as borders were closed to contain the
spread of the deadly virus.
CAL has proposed to place its contract
pilots, who are over 60, on nopay
leave for a three months from
October to December 2020.
The airline also proposed to reduce
the salaries of all other staff by between
15 and 20 percent, based on their salary
levels for six to eight months,
starting this week, when the airline’s
October pay cycle begins.
Since T&T’s borders were closed on
March 23, CAL has paid all employees
their full salaries, while the airline
operated on a restricted basis, offering
special flights to bring stranded
nationals and take students back to
their homeland.
— Compiled by Azad Ali
Continued from Page 4
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