Drama at the port

A confrontation between an employee at the Antigua Port Authority and its manager, that reportedly nearly ended in an all-out brawl, is now in the hands of the police.
Mechanic at the port, Armin Henry, said that he has formally filed a police report against Darwin Telemaque, who he is accusing of using force in an effort to get him to leave the premises on Wednesday.
Henry told OBSERVER media that tempers first flared during a meeting with Telemaque and other employees of the port to discuss accusations levelled against him, when he challenged the manager’s authority.
He explained that he was being accused of leading a delegation of staff to embark on industrial action.
Henry, who is also a shop steward at the port, said that when he indicated that he would not be discussing the matter without the presence of a union representative and other shop stewards, Telemaque responded by saying, “No. I am the port manager and you will answer me.”
At the end of the meeting, Telemaque reportedly asked Henry to take the day off.
Henry said that he refused Telemaque’s suggestion but after some time he decided to change his clothes with the intention of reporting the matter to the union office. It was at that point that Telemaque called him into another meeting.
“We ended up right back in the conference room and at the same time he is telling me, ‘when I tell you to leave, you leave right away,” Henry continued. “Then I told him that I do not have to leave without my union rep here and I have done nothing wrong.”
(More in today’s Daily Observer)