Roger Hinds (third right), president of the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) presents Haydn Jones (centre) president of the Shipping Association of Trinidad and Tobago (SATT) with a copy of the History of the Shipping Association of Jamaica, during a visit to the SAJ's Fourth Avenue offices last week. Also in the picture are (from left): SAJ managing committee (MC) member Evroy Johnson, Wieger Koornstra, SATT Strategic Planning Committee member and CEO of the Port of Port of Spain, Elaine Joanne Edwards, a member of the SATT delegation, Corah Ann Robertson Sylvester, MC member and Joseph Lowe, MC member. The SATT group visited Jamaica as part of their strategic benchmarking programme.
The Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) will launch an exhibition of photographs and artefacts charting its history and contribution to the shipping industry and national development.
The exhibition, which is the first of several events marking the Association 70th Anniversary celebrations, will be launched in a ceremony at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Library, Tom Redcam Avenue, starting at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 27.
The exhibition will chart the role the SAJ and its members played in the period leading to the creation of the modern trade union movement and the events that led to Jamaica's independence.
Forefront of change
The SAJ has been at the forefront of change and development at the Port of Kingston and has sought to play a significant role in national development since its early days in 1939. The exhibition will highlight the contributions of some of the stalwarts of the Shipping Association and the industry which it supports.
Among other activities for the celebration of its 70th anniversary, the SAJ will be hosting a conference later in the year, which will focus on logistics and Jamaica's potential as a major regional logistics and distribution hub. A fund-raising golf tournament for the Association's charities will be held in May and later, a schools essay competition for primary, secondary and tertiary institutions will be launched.
The Association's Church service to mark the anniversary will be held during Maritime Awareness Week, along with industry partners the Maritime Authority of Jamaica and the Caribbean Maritime Institute.
The exhibition will showcase the Port of Kingston then and now, the introduction of modern technology, containerisation and the expansion of modern transhipment.
Safety in port operation
The SAJ has, throughout the years, placed emphasis on safety in port operations and as such, safety gear used on the old and modern port will be on display. Other artefacts will include documents from the past era, such as the first minutes of the meeting of the SAJ, safety equipment, portworker registration forms, old publications of the SAJ as well as copies of the Acts which govern the shipping industry.
The exhibition will be on at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Library from January 27 to February 27 after which it will move to parishes across the island.
Founded in 1939 as a registered employers' trade union, the SAJ represents 77 companies in the private sector of the island's shipping industry. The Association regulates the supply and management of labour at Port Bustamante. The SAJ deals with all matters affecting the interests of its membership including industrial relations, security and training. It also liaises with government and other trade bodies.