Alvin Henry retires

Alvin Henry (right), outgoing general manager of the SAJ accepts a painting from the Vice President of the Association, Harry Maragh, at a reception in his honour last Friday evening. Mr. Henry retires after 32 years at the SAJ.

ALVIN CARL Henry, the longest-serving general manager of the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), who proceeds on retirement July, 2001 was last Friday evening honoured by colleagues, workers and friends for his sterling years of contribution to the Association and his influence on developments in the wider shipping industry.

Mr. Henry retires after giving 32 years of service to the SAJ, 20 of which were spent as the sixth general manager in the association's 63-year history. He joined the organisation in 1969 as the Accountant and Officer Manager after spending nine years at Price Waterhouse, and was promoted in 1975 to the position of Financial Controller. In 1981, he was appointed the general manager.

At the cocktail reception in his honour at the Le Meridien Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston, he was lauded for his tenacity and excellent leadership and negotiating skills, which had directed several important developments in the local shipping arena. He was also presented with tokens of appreciation.

Mr. Henry was acknowledged for initiating systems and guiding innovations, which transformed the Association not only in the technical aspects, but also in the areas of industrial relations and human resource development. In particular, homage was paid to him for his involvement in the landmark three-year labour agreement in 1997, which eliminated certain restrictive labour practices on the port.

Alvin Henry's involvement in the shipping sector also extends to the wider Caribbean region where he also made an impact, serving one time as the Corporate Secretary and then as Executive Vice President of the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA), an organisation he has served for 25 years.

Tribute

Among those paying tribute were Grantley Stephenson, President of SAJ; Hon. Noel Hylton, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ); David Harding, President of the Shipping Association of Barbados (SAB); Corah Ann Sylvester, Vice President of the CSA; Alister Cooke, general manager of Kingston Wharves Limited; Hopeton Caven, General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and portworker union delegate, Francis Tavares. Also paying, tribute through messages read at the function, were Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, Minister of Tourism and Sports and former Labour Minister, and Hugh Shearer President of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU).

In his comments, the SAJ President cited the general manager's good character, management and leadership skills as the tools, which made him successful in the various initiatives for the Association over the years.

"Alvin, we are going to miss your leadership. You have been vocal about policies that needed to be changed that were changed. You have been vocal about working arrangements on the port and those were changed. You have been vocal about productivity and steps have been taken to address that. In short, under your stewardship we have come a very long way," Mr. Stephenson noted.

In his remarks, the PAJ President commended Mr. Henry for his good labour negotiating skills, noting that he was at the forefront of labour negotiations in the shipping industry. He declared Mr. Henry a Honorary Harbour Master and presented him with the instrument conferring this title. Mr. Hylton also expressed the hope that Mr. Henry's wealth of knowledge and skills would be retained in the industry in an advisory capacity.

President of the SAB noted the long association he has had with Mr. Henry and wished him all the best in his future pursuits. He gave him gifts on behalf of the SAB and himself. Wishing good health and happiness for the General Manager, Kingston Wharves general manager shared his recollection of the early days working with Mr. Henry and noted that it was a pleasure working with him on various projects.

Negotiator

General Secretary of TUC described Mr. Henry as a skilful negotiator who had commanded the admiration and respect of many individuals over the years. In his tribute, the portworker union delegate noted that Mr. Henry had distinguished himself as being "an efficient and inspiring leader" who would be missed by workers.

Speaking on behalf of the staff members at SAJ, Finance and Administrative Manager, Mrs. Belva Barned, thanked the general manager for his contribution to the development of staff and wished him "good health and a long and happy life". "I take this opportunity to publicly thank you... for the invaluable lessons you have imparted to all of us over these years," Mrs. Barned said.

In his reply Mr. Henry thanked the President and the Managing Committee of the SAJ, the workers and other individuals who had supported and assisted him in the various capacities during his 32 years at the Association. He expressed gratitude to the persons who paid tribute to him in speech, and for the gifts.

"You have been generous and considerate and in all humility I accept your tribute not just for myself, but more importantly on behalf of the team which I had the honour to lead. Without the support of each member of that team, the tasks would have been impossible at times," he remarked.

In reminiscing about the early days, Mr. Henry cited tough industrial climate on the port of Kingston and saluted former general mangers Tony Hylton and Alister Cooke for their pioneering roles in laying the foundation for the level of industrial harmony existing on the Port today. He also paid tribute to past and present union officers.

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