30720: Laborsoul (news) Privatization and Preval (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

 Laborsoul@aol.com



www.ahphaiti.org

AHP  June 25,  2007 12:35 PM

 Téléco
employees are asking for several years compensation in the event they
are forced to leave their jobs and denounce a policy of sabotage of the
public sector enterprises as a tactic to justify their privatization 




Port-au-Prince le  June 25,  2007 (AHP)- Workers at the national telephone 
company Téléco
said Monday that they will not accept payment of one year's
compensation if they are to be fired from their jobs under the
privatization plan announced by President  René Préval.

At the public utility's headquarters in  Pont Morin, the employees who are 
united in their views continued their campaign seeking the dismissal of the 
director general  Michel Présumé, whom they accuse of being opposed to 
negotiations. 

They
said they are not opposed to privatization, nor are they able to
prevent it. "However it is out of the question that we be sent away
empty-handed", they said.  

That
would be an unjust act by the president, if all employees were to
receive an indemnification of no more than one year's work in the event
they are dismissed", said some of the workers, recalling that many of
them have been working at the company for dozens of years.  

Several
employees also denounced what they called a policy of sabotage of the
public institutions in order to justify their privatization and sale at
absurdly low prices.  

" We are waiting to see who will take control", they said. 








AHP  June 25,  2007 4 :20 PM

Three
public autonomous institutions will soon be privatized and a commission
will be formed to study the situation of institutions dealing with
social security 

Port-au-Prince,  June 25, 2007   (AHP)- President René Préval announced 
Saturday that the following public sector enterprises,  Téléco,
ED'H (Electricity of Haiti), and APN (National Port Authority), will
soon be privatized because, he said, the results of these institutions
are not at all satisfactory.  

According to President Préval,  the
national telephone company, with its 150,000 land lines, has 3293
employees, which amounts to one employee for every 45 subscribers,
compared to cell phone company Haïtel which has 500 employees for
350,000 subscribers, or one employee for every 700 subscribers. Comcel,
he said, has 630 employees and 650,000 subscribers, or one employee for
every 1,000 subscribers, while Digicel has 700 employees and 1.4
million subscribers, or one employee for every 2,000 subscribers.  

"The
most important thing for our government is to faithfully accomplish our
mission for the welfare of the nation", declared Mr.  Préval, reaffirming his 
determination to correct the situation.  

At Téléco, where the union has been calling for the departure of  Director
General Michel Présumé for close to three weeks, the president
insinuated that the workers who are forced out of their jobs may
benefit from one year's compensation, as was the case for employees who
were sacked under the  Boniface/Latortue government.

The compensation would make it possible for the workers to find other 
employment, said the president.  

With
regard to the APN (National Port Authority), the president announced
that the ports will be modernized to try to reduce the cost of
unloading ships and at the same time prevent boats from taking their
business elsewhere.  

A
commercial vessel currently pays $35 per ton of merchandise to unload
cargo in APN ports, whereas elsewhere the cost is no more than $17 to
$21.  

Mr. Préval also deplored that APN utilizes 85% of its income to pay salaries. 
 

The
president also announced the formation of a commission mandated to
study the general situation of the ONA (National Office of Old-Age
Insurance) as well as all other institutions in the country responsible
for social security in Haiti.  

"We
need a vision for social security", declared Mr. Préval, judging that
an in-depth study will be necessary in order to learn whether it will
be possible to pay the insured 10 years from now, for example.  

The
chief of State said he believes that the announced reforms are certain
to upset some people, but that he would not be worried about that. 



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