Protest threatens to derail two-day Superstakes weekend

Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

The back-to-back race meets scheduled for Caymanas Park today and tomorrow are in limbo following industrial action by employees of Caymanas Track Limited (CTL) yesterday over what they described as issues affecting their welfare.

The workers are represented by the Union of Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Personnel (UTASP).

Up to press time last night, the general secretary of UTASP, St. Patrice Ennis, was locked in a meeting with CTL's director of corporate service/human resource manager, Andrea Jarrett, and representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Finance at the labour ministry, North Street, to try and resolve the issue.

Reacting to the strike action, CTl's newly appointed Chairman Raphael Gordon, amid calls for his resignation by Ennis and the trainers' association, said the board has identified the cash-flow problems and is working with the Ministry of Finance to address the problem.

False claims

Contrary to reports in sections of the media yesterday that he has resigned as chairman, Gordon described the claims as "absolutely false".

Calls by Ennis and the trainers' associations for a forensic audit of CTL were also dismissed by Gordon.

"Are they willing to pay for that? We send quarterly reports to the Ministry of Finance and I can tell you that the company's accounts are in order up to June 30, 2011.

"All financial statements are up to date and these were audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers", disclosed Gordon, who conceded that the company has been losing money since legislation to extend the bookmakers opening hours from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. from June 2010.

"It's has been a struggle to make ends meet as we are still awaiting the recommendations of the mediation report re increased rights fee to be implemented in order to ease the cash-flow problems of the company," said Gordon who described the current industrial action by workers as "politically motivated".

At yesterday's meeting at the Ministry of Labour, a ministry official disclosed minutes before 5 p.m. that "very slow progress is being made", as the fate of both meets depend on the outcome of this meeting.

The 33rd running of the CTL Superstakes with a purse of $5 million is scheduled for tomorrow.

Cash-flow problems

According to Ennis, CTL is experiencing "serious cash flow problems" and the workers, many of whom picketed the main gate leading into Caymanas Park yesterday, are concerned about their jobs.

"We have lost confidence in the management and the board in terms of their ability to run the company ... . We are calling on them to resign," declared Ennis.

"Through their stewardship, the company's resources have been depleted, in particular the Reserve Fund of $280 million. Of that amount only $3 million is left," he charged.

"In light of this, workers wages have been late, payments of purses to trainers and other racing personnel have also been late, as well as outstanding payments to contractors and suppliers ... We are demanding a forensic audit of CTL's accounts," he added.

Ennis said that UTASP and its delegates are trying to arrive at a back-to-work formula in order to save the 'Super Weekend' race meets, but at this stage (mid-afternoon yesterday), it's up in the air.

"This meeting could well proceed until late in the night at which stage we'll be in a better position to know," he said.

On Wednesday, both trainers' associations convened a meeting in the Trainers' Room to bash the management of CTL over its stewardship of the company, putting forward a number of proposals to turn around the cash-strapped company, including the call for a forensic audit.

At the quarterly meeting between CTL and the stakeholders at Caymanas Park yesterday, the stakeholders voiced their concerns and sought the intervention of Finance Minister Audley Shaw.