Local News |
Wages to be adjusted effective June 1st 2008
ByMerville Defoe- Thursday 8th May 2008
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Citizens should see a difference in their wages
effective June 1st 2008. At a media briefing
earlier, Minister for Labor Rayburn Blackmoore announced
that the proposal rates of 1998 will be implemented
before the actual review the minimum wage. He says this
decision has been taken as interim measure. The new
wages are as follows: agricultural and other unskilled
workers $4 per hour, daily paid factory and tourism
workers $4.50, juveniles and trainees $3.60, cashiers,
sales persons and receptionists $5.50, shop assistants
$4.50, home assistants with meals $500 per month,
without meals $575 and living in $570 per month.
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Prime Minister to attend COFCOR meeting today
By Merville Defoe- Thursday 8th May 2008
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Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit will attend a meeting
of Caricom Foreign Ministers in Antigua today. The
meeting is meant to evaluate the likely impact of the
Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) on
Caricom. On January 26th 2008, Mr. Skerrit
had announced Dominica’s membership unto ALBA. This
initiative brought about by Venezuela's President Hugo
Chavez will undergo assessment at the two-day meeting.
High on the agenda of the Caricom Council for Foreign
and Community Relations (COFCOR) -is how ALBA fits into
the region’s already established international alliances
including the United States.
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Carib Council concerned about its involvement in Housing
Revolution
By
Jozef Faddoul- Thursday 8th May 2008
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The Carib Council is very concerned about its
involvement in the development of housing in the Carib
Territory, under Government’s Housing Revolution. Carib
Chief, Charles Williams at a press conference Wednesday,
said the project which was offered to the Council in
2005 by government, allowed them to identify suitable
lands for the venture. But according to Mr Williams, it
now appears that the Council is being left out of the
process. “The housing program is coming on stream. We
have to question whether or not they were really
sincere.” Q95 understands that Housing Minister Reginald
Austrie is currently out of state. Efforts to contact
Minister for Carib Affairs Kelly Graneau were
unsuccessful.
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Labor Minister appoints advisory board to review minimum
wage
By
Merville Defoe- Thursday 8th May 2008
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Labor Minister Rayburn Blackmoore will appoint an
advisory board for recommendations to review the minimum
wage here. He told a press conference Thursday that the
law has provided him the faculty to appoint such a body
if appropriate. Mr. Blackmoore said the fixing of the
minimum wage is a long standing matter; and one that has
to be dealt with to the benefit of all citizens. The
minister also announced that wages will be adjusted
effective June 1st 2008. The minimum wage
which should be reviewed every three years, was last
reviewed in 1989.
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PDM Leader says solid leadership will build Dominica
By Tyrella Alexander- Thursday 8th May 2008
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Solid Leadership is one of the key ingredients for
development in Dominica. Leader of the Peoples
Democratic Movement (PDM) William Riviere is of the view
that political parties usually place more focus on
winning elections rather than creating a proper national
plan. He says the PDM believes in empowering the people
and it is time to move away from what he refers to as
the old style of politics. “People are looking for
something new. The parties come they don’t discuss
anything with the people, they win elections and the
country doesn’t move forward.”
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American couple donates supplies to schools on island
By Tyrella Alexander- Thursday 8th May 2008
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Thanks to the donation of an American couple, Brenda and
John Scanelli, schools on island will be further
equipped to improve their learning environment. The
couple on Wednesday handed over two container loads of
supplies to the Ministry of Education, to distribute to
schools around the island. Mr John Scanelli said it is
hoped the items will help teachers to effectively
perform their duties, and will motivate students to do
their best at school. Gloria Shillingford of the
Ministry of Education said the donation will enhance the
quality of education in Dominica.
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Mercedes-Benz World Tour marks significant moment for
Dominica
By Merville Defoe- Thursday 8th May 2008
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President of the North-Northeast Tourism Development
Committee Nichols Andrew dubs the voyage of the
Mercedes-Benz on Dominica as significant. Various
government departments on Thursday, gathered at
Longhouse Port in Portsmouth, to welcome the
Mercedes-Benz World Tour as it stopped on the island.
German adventurer Gunthur Horltorf said he is delighted
to have arrived on the island. However, he said it has
also been very costly to travel the world. The
adventurer along with his wife and their vehicle, have
been traveling the world together for 18 years now. They
are expected to leave the island this week.
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Regional News |
USVI police hunt for rape suspect
caribbeannetnews.com - Thursday 8th May 2008
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Police on St Croix in the US Virgin Islands have
reported an alleged rape that happened in the
Frederiksted area on Saturday, May 2. The victim
reported to police that her home was broken into by an
unknown male individual who sexually assaulted her and
threatened her with a knife. The USVI Police Department
is investigating all leads in this matter. The VIPD has
always had a strict policy of not divulging the names of
sexual assault victims or any information that may
provide information that may lead the public to surmise
the identity of the person. However, on Tuesday a local
newspaper reported that a “police source who spoke on
the condition of anonymity” had provided unauthorized
information on the identity of the sexual assault
victim.
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Another US travel agency boycotts St Kitts over alleged
animal cruelty
caribbeannetnews.com - Thursday 8th May 2008
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The travel boycott of St Kitts instigated by People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) over the alleged
mutilation and killing of healthy sheep, donkeys, and
goats at the island's Ross University School of
Veterinary Medicine is under discussion at travel
agencies around the globe. While some agencies are
reportedly planning quietly to steer travellers to other
destinations, Washington, DC-based Green Earth Travel
has publicly announced that it will encourage its
clients not to visit St Kitts until the veterinary
school ends its cruel and deadly surgical procedures on
animals. PETA has been urging Ross to join other
veterinary schools and use only modern, humane teaching
methods.
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Dominican Republic seeks funds to produce more food
caribbeannetnews.com - Thursday 8th May 2008
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The Dominican Republic is seeking some $1 billion in
external financing to boost food production and increase
exports to neighbouring Caribbean countries that are
struggling with high prices of agricultural commodities,
especially grains. Foreign Minister Carlos Morales
Troncoso told Reuters this week that the Dominican
Republic needs financing from multilateral banks to
become a steady supplier of grains to the Caribbean,
helping mitigate the impact of a global food crisis.
"The Dominican Republic could become the Caribbean's
granary if the United Nations and the industrialized
countries agree to finance it," Morales Troncoso said
during a telephone interview after meeting UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon in New York.
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