KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, July 28, 2009 – The three shareholder Prime Ministers, Chairman and members of LIAT’s Executive Management met Monday with the unions and staff associations that represent the regional carrier’s 900 employees.
The meeting comes one week after the three Prime Ministers - David Thompson of Barbados, Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda and Dr. Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines - met with the Chairman of the LIAT Board, Dr. Jean Holder and members of the Executive Management in St. Vincent.
“I want to say that we had a very successful meeting and to the travelling public on LIAT I think we are seeing the commencement of a fresh start, a partnership between LIAT’s Management and all the stakeholders including the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Associations (LIALPA),” host Prime Minister Dr. Gonsalves said.
Addressing reporters at a press conference following the meeting he said it was agreed that the LIAT Management and LIALPA would submit all matters of employment in relation to the pilots to binding arbitration. Both sides will meet in Barbados on Wednesday July 29 to finalise those issues.
It is expected that retired Barbadian Jurist, former High Court Judge Leroy Inniss QC will chair the Arbitration Panel, while Captain Desmond Ross would be LIALPA’s representative on the panel. The LIAT Management will appoint a former pilot as its representative to the panel.
“This arbitration takes place within the framework of the law of Antigua and Barbuda,” Prime Minister Gonsalves said, adding that there would be “a final report by the Arbitration Panel on or before September 30”.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister said that it was agreed that the situation would revert to the status quo ante, that is, what they were prior to the injunction of May 22 granted by the Industrial Court of Antigua and Barbuda against the pilots, following an undertaking and assurance by the pilots that industrial action in all forms will cease. In these circumstances it was agreed that the injunction would be discharged by agreement of the parties at the hearing fixed for July 30.
It was also agreed at the meeting that a Consultative Mechanism would be put in place to improve the level of communication within the Company; while the airline’s management also agreed to institute a forensic financial audit of the Company as well as a technical assessment of the airlines Flight Operations Department.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer indicated his Government’s commitment to lift the work permit requirement for pilots, flight attendants and engineers and Dr. Gonsalves said that the plan was to have these categories added to the list of workers who would have the CARICOM Skilled Nationals Certificate by February 2010.
Chairman of the LIAT Board of Directors Dr. Jean Holder described the meeting as “historic”, adding that without the airline “there is really no single market and economy” in the region.
“This is the most important company in the Eastern Caribbean. The socioeconomic and even cultural development of this region depends on its ability to move persons, business and cargo around the region and LIAT is what we have now and without LIAT there really is no single market and economy. It is as simple as that,” added Dr. Holder.
Acting Chief Executive Officer Brian Challenger expressed appreciation to the three Prime Ministers on behalf of the Management and staff.
“We are particularly pleased with the return to normalcy in our operations. I know that many of our passengers have really suffered tremendous hardships during this period and we hope that there is an end to that now,” Mr. Challenger said.
“I want to also take the opportunity to express our appreciation as management to our staff who have really stood behind the Company through very difficult times,” the acting CEO said.
-ENDS-
St. Vincent News