Up to 12 workers in Antigua & Barbuda could be among those put on the breadline when LIAT closes its city offices across the region.
General Secretary of the Antigua & Barbuda Workers’ Union (ABWU) Senator David Massiah told The Daily OBSERVER, in a letter dated July 6, that the office in St John’s, along with the others across the Caribbean, will close up shop on August 31.
The letter continued, “As was intimated through ongoing dialogue through the consultative meetings, this decision was taken as a result of the company’s need to adapt its business model in keeping with the changing economic and technological environment. And in particular to promote the use of web-based and telephone bookings.”
In the document, LIAT assured workers that all statutory and collective bargaining commitments and procedures will be met; all severance payments due to affected employers will be provided at the time of concluded employment with the company and that enhanced severance packages are also being proposed for the affected employees.
But this does not satisfy the unions who are trying to prevent job loss in what they say is an already difficult economic environment.
The ABWU was among several unions which met Thursday in Grenada to discuss the proposed office closures.
Massiah told this newspaper the consensus at those talks was that LIAT’s decision was not well founded and is a bad business decision.
President of the Technical Allied Workers Union in Grenada, Chester Humphrey, who hosted his colleagues said LIAT’s proposal would increase already dismal unemployment figures in the region and he is hoping the unions can get LIAT to change its mind.
The matter will be discussed when the unions and LIAT meet next Tuesday in Antigua as part of their consultative mechanism.
There will be pilots to fly the planes……The rest You can figure out
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Wicked set of people. Promote the use of online reservations and telephone bookings my ass. Why do so many think that LIAT is holier than thou? Talk about economic times, you manipulate and monopolise the Caribbean skies. You are not any better than Cable and Wireless that up to now cant even settle on a name for themselves. By the way how much money did they settle to call themselves LIME when your in flight magazine was to be called LIME also. There had to be settlement of some sort. The people almost have no choice. Speaking about choice, how about omitting the line by the flight attendants when they say “thank you for choosing LIAT”. In case you forgot we do not have a choice. This is insulting our intelligence.
My heart does go out to the folks in Antigua and across the region. Keep the faith guys.
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I bet they are going to try and blame this on the pilots…
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