'Blows all around' -- vendors sum up strike effect
"Blows all around," was how pavement vendors on Regent Street summed up the effects of the 55-day public service strike which affected virtually every sector of the country's economy. Even though the strike has ended, life is not yet back to normal for those who are not only grappling with rebuilding their sales but rebuilding the structures on which they displayed their goods. Most of these structures had been demolished by protesters during the strike and ensuing protests. Some vendors on Regent Street told Stabroek News yesterday that almost every vendor came out at that location with saws, hammers and nails to rebuild their stalls, which they said had been demolished on more than two occasions by the City Constables under the supervision of an officer from the Mayor and City Council. Speaking about business which they said has not "picked up" as yet, one watch vendor said "there is no spending power". Public servants, some vendors said, will do no shopping until next month end and they do not anticipate business "picking up" before then. Some vendors said that business had slowed down since earlier in the year and the strike further exacerbated the situation. Speaking of his losses, a watch vendor said that the amount of watches he would normally sell in three weeks was taking him three months to sell. He is also afraid to purchase new stocks because watches, he explained, are electronic equipment should not be in storage for any length of time as the heat generated during storage will most likely cause damage. This is especially so for the cheaper watches which sell faster. He estimated at least ten percent in damage to watches in storage at the wharf during the strike. A vendor who sells clothing, including lingerie, and other miscellaneous items said that on an average she makes about $30,000 a week but during the strike she made between $3,000 to $5,000 each week. She said yesterday, after a long while, sales were better. She earned $3,000 for the day. She blamed the police and the city constables for the vendors present woes. She said sales could have been better but every day vendors have to build their stands and break them down again in the afternoon to take them away for storage because of the possibility that they could be damaged by the city police at night. She said that by the time the vendors put up their stalls and get down to displaying their goods the day is done. During the strike some vendors said that people were not interested in buying dry goods. They said shoppers told them that they only had money for food. A number of vendors on Regent Street were angry that the strike had been called off even though their sales had been affected. Some said that they had left their stalls to show their support for the public servants who needed better salaries and were disappointed that the public servants were going back to work for "nothing much." 
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