BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – DAYS after a 48-hour sickout by LIAT pilots ended, the company and the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) are yet to reach an agreement over outstanding payments.
Last week’s (June 16-17) sickouts stemmed from allegedly “false” statements made by LIAT management over lengthy wage disputes between the Antigua-based airline and LIALPA. As many as 144 flights were cancelled and in excess of 6500 confirmed passengers were left stranded across the region due to the industrial action. LIAT suffered a staggering financial blow and continues to be subject to what it calls “abusive” language by LIALPA.
In a June 22 press statement issued by LIALPA, the association said it is disappointed with LIAT’s display of “arrogance, deliberate dishonesty and continued unfair treatment” of its pilots.
The release went on the make rebuttals to a number of issues that LIAT’s Board of Directors had raised during last week’s sick-outs. These include unlawful deductions of salaries, settling all retroactive public holiday payments, matters of current pension deductions and signing off on a new contract immediately following an arbitration judgement.
LIAT’s aim, according to LIALPA, was to intentionally mislead the Caribbean people.
“LIALPA will not suffer in silence while the Company tries to use outright lies to turn the Caribbean people against its members…. We refuse to stand-by and watch LIAT’s Management continues its high levels of reckless spending, especially on management itself, while at the same time it appears increasingly incompetent in other areas of fiscal responsibility and employee relations,” the release read.
LIALPA explained that while it did not instruct its pilots to take industrial action in relation to the issues outlined, member pilots “will resent very strongly the unlawful decisions and gross unfair treatment by LIAT’s management”.
In response, LIAT’s management said it is disappointed in the rhetoric and conduct in LIALPA’s press statement, describing it as unfavourable for a timely resolution to be reached by both parties.
“LIAT deeply regrets the abusive and disrespectful tone of the communication emanating from LIALPA. Such a tone cannot be expected to contribute to resolution of the serious issues presently facing LIAT and LIALPA. LIAT’s management calls on LIALPA’s executive to refrain from such unfortunate language and to display the professionalism and high standards of decency and fair play,” LIAT management stated in a press statement issued yesterday (Jun. 23).
Management of the Antigua-based airline responded to all the issues pointed out be LIALPA, stressing that LIAT has supported the independent arbitration process, will duly comply with the ruling and sign the revised Collective Agreement when the decision is handed down. An earlier request by LIALPA for a new Collective Agreement to be signed prior to this decision is handed down is “not possible”, according to the LIAT communiqué.
While LIALPA claims that no member of LIAT’s management or any of its directors has made an attempt to contact the leadership of the association since last week’s flight disruptions, the LIAT statement makes it clear that Acting CEO Brian Challenger requested a meeting with LIALPA’s Chairman, Capt. Michael Blackburn, during the sick-outs.
Informal discussion were also held with one senior executive of LIALPA, followed up by efforts from St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves to convene meetings between the stakeholders.
To date, no resolution has been made, but LIAT anticipates that there will be no further disruptions to its service, as the present economic conditions can only have “negative consequences” for the islands heavily dependent on LIAT for regional travel.
