The Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce (DAIC) has tasked transporters to reconstitute their leadership for better service delivery and representation. DAIC stated that the transportation sector will be better organized to negotiate with the government if they had a visionary representation for consensual action plans.
Given the mass protests embarked upon by drivers on Monday to demand for a stimulus package, DAIC President Stephen Lander stated that stakeholders in the transport section should develop a comprehensive and more formalized organizational structure to enable them make public demands without becoming a public nuissance.
The association for industry and commerce made it clear that it is the civil rights of people to embark on peaceful protests in pursuance of public demands, but such protests must not infringe on the civil rights of other people in the society. DAIC emphasized that unmitigated public protests have a way of crippling socio-economic activities and bringing the economy to its knees.
While there is news that a delegation of bus drivers met with Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit to discuss relief issues, the extent and conclusions of the discussion remain to be made public. According to Lander, sector representatives must continue to make themselves available to the government for negotiations in the most civil manner until a mutual resolution is reached.
“While the need for interim financial assistance has been conveyed, the Chamber strongly suggests that stakeholders initiate plans to formalize the structure of the public transportation sector and establish regulations in support of it,” DAIC stated. “Moreover, these efforts will enhance sector representation at the policy level and improve access to formal response mechanisms during future shock events.”
In a similar vein, DAIC urged law enforcement officers to implement de-escalation principles in the face of public unrest instead of resorting to extrajudicial use of force and violence.
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