The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor THE Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation's (BCCEC) chairman has urged that the industrial unrest involving Customs and Immigration officers be resolved "as quickly as possible", warning that the negative economic impact might "be significant". Speaking just prior to developments at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) on Saturday, where tourists and business travellers were left waiting in long lines for hours to be processed, Winston Rolle said both government agencies were vital to the economy's smooth functioning. Customs was responsible for clearing all imported goods at the Bahamas' borders, while Immigration officers were the first face-to-face experience for all visitors to this nation. "The economic impact will be significant if it's not dealt with as soon as possible," Mr Rolle said. He noted that the so-called shift system, one of the main grievances for Customs and Immigration officers, had been implemented some time ago, "but because it's election time, persons are thinking this is the right time to get attention to their matters". Suggesting that such a culture needed "addressing", Mr Rolle added: "Our politics needs to be more than that." He added that negotiators sometimes "make decision they would otherwise never have made" with external pressures hanging over them. Tourists and business travellers were left waiting in line for hours - some even fainting due to the heat and humidity - after Customs and Immigration officers failed to show up to work at LPIA on Saturday afternoon, according to an e-mail sent to Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham. At a press conference in Exuma on Saturday, Mr Ingraham read from an e-mail received from the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), which detailed Saturday's "chaotic" situation. "I got the following e-mail from the NAD ... it says that none of the immigration line officers showed up - such very few senior officers showed," he said. "Jack Thompson actually had to man a booth to process passengers." Between 11am and 3pm, the airport "literally had more than a hundred passengers backed up" into the new US terminals. "Longer lines than we've ever seen before," Mr Ingraham read. "Some people were in the queue for approximately two hours. There were people who fainted and no nurse was on duty, and unfortunately there were significant press calls on the British Airways flight to cover Prince Harry's visit - they were very unhappy."