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LIAT in fresh dispute with workers

Published: 4 April 2017

A meeting will be held here Tuesday to discuss how to get out of the latest problem facing the struggling regional carrier, LIAT, which is embroiled in a salary dispute with staff.

The airline’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Julie Reifer-Jones said the shareholder governments had agreed to intervene in the carrier’s latest disagreement with workers and will meet Tuesday to determine how to avert industrial action.

The unions representing the workers have rejected the company’s plan to pay salaries late because of its financial woes. The unions have also threatened to take action if the airline proceeded with the deferrals.

In a press release issued on Sunday, the pilots’ union, the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) went a step further, saying it “will not stand by and watch the airline’s financial health continue to deteriorate at massive levels, to the point where LIAT can’t even pay salaries on time”.

It also called on the shareholder governments to sack the management.

“LIAT management refuses to accept responsibility for the sad state of the airline’s affairs, and instead is focusing on making the crew the scapegoats. The travelling public deserves to know the truth: The current management at LIAT is not capable of running the airline at this critical time. Their track record speaks for itself,” LIALPA said in the release.

The union also strongly denied claims that delays in service experience over the weekend were due to industrial action by the pilots.

“This has nothing to do with LIALPA and we are not involved at all. As a matter of fact, we continue to pledge to the Caribbean people that we are currently going above and beyond the call of duty to get the airline running at optimal levels, even to the extent of not having meal breaks and working 11 hour shifts. We have already worked almost an extra week without pay. However, this is not sustainable,” the release stated.

Customs Department to take over alleged money laundering incident

Published: 4 April 2017

The Custom and Excise Division will be taking over the investigation into an alleged case of money laundering involving a male and a female who were intercepted at the VC Bird International Airport last Friday evening.

Lev Josiah of Paynters and Erica Thomas of Mount Joy were arrested by police and taken into custody.

They were intercepted by Airport Security, with over US $20,000 and almost EC $3,000 in their possession. The monies were seized and the matter handed over to the Customs department and the police.

Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Inspector Frankie Thomas told OBSERVER media yesterday that Erica Thomas was released pending further investigations, while Josiah remains in custody and will have to answer to the comptroller of Customs today.

Airport Security was conducting one of their routine security checks when they found Josiah with over US $18,000 and EC $785.

Thomas, on the other hand, was caught with the lesser amount, of over US $2,000 and EC $1750.

The two were booked to travel to St Maarten

Liat mum on call to axe management

Published: 4 April 2017

LIALPA President Captain Carl Burke (OBSERVER media photo)

The union representing Liat pilots is calling for the immediate removal of the airline’s top managers, amidst the implementation of a salary deferral system that was rejected by staff and the union, among other issues.

Yesterday, the airline’s communications department shied away from the media when asked to respond to the public call by the Leeward Islands Airlines Pilots Association’s (LIALPA’s) for its senior management team – led by acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Julie Reifer-Jones – to be sacked.

When OBSERVER media reached out to the airline for comment we were told that Liat would issue a response either today or later in the week.

In the meantime, in a press release dated April 2, 2017 LIALPA stated, “Unfortunately it has no other choice but to call on the shareholder governments to remove the current Liat management”.

Then, speaking on OBSERVER Radio on Monday, President of LIALPA Carl Burke said his union was also making a “cry to the public” for what the release termed “public pressure” to be put on the Board of Directors to fire the management.

LIALPA’s ire was, according to it, raised by the fact that the company did not pay salaries on time. The union stated, “When a company cannot pay salaries on time, then management must accept that they have failed and they should be removed.”

Burke said, “It’s not that I can say they can’t pay the staff, but they’ve moved so far down the priority list in terms of who should be paid when and at what time, that the staff is now at the bottom of the priority list.”

The union chief added, “Management refuses to accept responsibility for the sad state of the airline’s affairs, and instead is focusing on making the crew the scapegoats.”

LIALPA also used its release to disassociate itself from what Liat termed as “industrial unrest” that allegedly took place on Sunday. LIALPA’s release stated that the unrest “has nothing to do with LIALPA and we are not involved at all”.

He was referring to an earlier April 2, 2017 release in which Liat said the airline was “currently experiencing a number of delays and cancellations” due to the unrest.