proposed deferral but no settlement was reached. Julian Monrose says Trade Unionists left the meeting with no indication from the government on a way forward.
Monrose, who is also President of the St. Lucia Teachers’ Union, says Teachers are prepared to stand up for their rights. Teachers have been criticized in some quarters for their decision to boycott classes at the start of the third term when some students are preparing for CXC and Common Entrance Exams. The TUF President who’s also the Principal of the RC Boys Primary School says teachers are well aware of the situation as it relates to upcoming exams but he insists teachers have the best interest of their students at heart.

But, teachers aren’t the only Civil Servants preparing to protest. Monrose says individual units of the Trade Union Federation are preparing their own protests. The Prime Minister asked the Civil Servants to defer their 7.5% salary increase until April 2010 because his government is unable to pay due to the economic crisis. The offer was rejected on the grounds that King disrespected workers by waiting until the eleventh hour to ask for the deferral. It is yet unclear what will happen after the unions meet their members again on Monday.

On Tuesday the Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet including Labour Minister – Edmund Estephane – met with the National Workers Union and the General Dock Workers Union. The Prime Ministers Spokesman – Winston Springer - says that meeting was very productive. In fact – Springer and the NWU say both parties were open to negotiation.

Government Ministers – including Arsene James and Richard Frederick – have indicated their willingness to take a pay cut if that would demonstrate good faith with the Unions. It is not an offer Monrose accepts – he says the government needs to do more.

Media reports state the TUF misrepresented the position of the Prime Minister. Both the government spokesman and the Union President say the position of the government has been clearly articulated. The Prime Minister has now met with all public sector Unions. He has agreed to periodic meetings to keep them informed about the economic condition of the country. Prime Minister King is also expected to address the Nation Wednesday evening.

Corporal Constantine is hoping that other young people can learn from the deadly crash. He says young people without a required license should never get behind the wheel. The Police Spokesman says it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Dupre was bailed in the sum of twenty thousand dollars cash and twenty thousand in suitable surety. Police have confirmed that he is not the same person involved in a vehicular crash some years ago that resulted in the death of a young lady. At a hearing scheduled for May 7th Alan McMillan Dupre will be required to enter a plea on the charges of causing death by dangerous driving and driving without a required license. As a condition of his bail, Dupre has been ordered to appear at the Gros Islet police station every Wednesday.

Vice Principal Marie George – Arlain says the robbery appears to have been well-organized as the computers were secured in this special case. Arlain says such acts demonstrate a high level of lawlessness in the society. The robbers also visited other sections of the school including the office and storeroom leaving a trail of destruction in their search for valuables. The incident forced school officials to suspend classes for the day as police investigated the crime scene and debriefed Teachers. The Education Officer for District 4 – Marilyn Bain says the actions of the robbers will disadvantage the youth of that school adversely.

School officials are urging the public to be wary of people trying to sell them laptops and report to the police anyone who does not appear to be the genuine owner of the goods. The Education Officer says the police are on the case and are being assisted in their efforts to catch the six robbers.

The Marigot Secondary School will soon employ tighter security measures to limit the recurrence of Wednesday’s robbery. The school’s Vice Principal says she expects classes to resume as normal on Thursday.

Patrons who used plastic bags were asked to donate a minimum of 25 cents for the privilege. The collected money went to certain school groups like the St Joseph’s Convent RBBT Young Leaders Club who were at Super J Sunny Acres on Wednesday – assisting with the effort. The money collected from sale of plastic bags on that day will be donated to the Group’s “green revolution” cause. PRO – Reijeanne Preville says the public’s reaction to the “bring your own bag” initiative was satisfactory.

The Solid Waste Management Authority supports the reusable bag initiative fully. The Authority’s Operations Manager - Laurianus Lesfloris says it will help change customers’ mindset about the need to reduce plastic bag use. Le Sporis is urging the public to support the reusable bag initiative. He says the day when customers pay a small fee for plastic bags is not very far away.

He says under that programme – funds collected from the sale of those bags would go towards school or community-based environment programmes. The Solid Waste official says while plastic bags and products cannot be eliminated; all Saint Lucians can help to reduce the numbers that have to be disposed of daily.

company. Resident British Commissioner – Karl Burroughs – says the bins are a small part of becoming more environmentally conscious. The theme for Earth Day 2009 is Green Generation. Burroughs says that everyone must see themselves as part of that generation.

The bins are solar powered and are a step above normal. Operations Manager at the Saint Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority – Laurianus Lesfloris – explains how they work. The bins will also be placed at the Saint Mary’s College. They were accepted by the President of the Saint Mary’s College Young Leaders – Keril Victor.

The NYC wants to play a greater role in planning the calendar of activities for Youth Month. Council President – Marvin Edgar says the NYC continues to be left out in the cold by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Edgar says traditionally - National Youth Month has always been held by the Ministry – “in collaboration with the NYC.” However, over the last two years, the Ministry has failed to seek the collaboration

of the NYC as the legal and legitimate representative of organized youth in Saint Lucia. Edgar says evidence of this lack of inclusion can be found in the Ministry’s restructuring of the National Youth Parliament – without informing the NYC. He says when Ministry Officials chose to shake up the longstanding event – they changed it’s essence in the process.

But Edgar says Youth Month should be a time of celebration and motivation for the youth – and these issues will be discussed further following the annual observance. He says for now, his focus is on empowering Saint Lucia’s youth and urging them to strive for excellence.

The National Youth Council was established on April 14th, 1985, to promote the active participation of young people in the economic, social, cultural and political life of St. Lucia. Youth Day was observed on April 14th.

Dominic Alexander says it’s a program that benefits people who have not been able to take advantage of tertiary level education. Three students earned top level marks nationwide. The Foundation’s Deputy Chairman – Jimmy Haynes says the students’ achievements are commendable. He says they worked diligently and most of them succeeded despite the odds. The Foundation plans to offer the ABE programme annually. Haynes says it will provide more residents with access to tertiary level education.

plan was prescribed in the Ministry’s National Hazard Mitigation Policy The project is funded by the European Union under its Special Framework of Assistance of 2006 and is being implemented through the Food and Agricultural Organisation. It’s expected to assist in training agricultural officers and to carry out on-farm demonstrations in the areas of agriculture. In addition, is will prepare fishers to guard against the effects of natural disasters. Initially, the project is expected to run from March 2009 to February 2011.

country become compliant with its phyto-sanitary services with regard to the trading of agricultural goods.