Hundreds of passengers booked to travel on regional air carrier LIAT, have been stranded here for a second day in a row as the management of the airline attempts to end the on-going industrial action taken by its pilots.
While calls to the airline’s offices were unanswered yesterday, sources at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport at Timehri, told this newspaper yesterday that no aircraft for the company was expected at Timehri yesterday, while passengers continue to voice concern over bookings.
The handling service of LIAT at the airport, Timehri Handling Service told Stabroek News yesterday that it was unclear when the on-going dispute would come to an end.
According to a release from LIAT, the board of directors of the airline met yesterday in Antigua and Barbuda to discuss the on-going industrial action taken by the company’s pilots who are represented by the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA).
The airline stated that the focus of the meeting was to implement measures to restore its service and “to deal with the severe distress that this action has caused the Caribbean public”.
Noting that thousands of passengers have been left stranded throughout the region over the past two days as a result of the industrial action taken by the airline’s pilots, the airline stated that four areas of contention which have been listed by LIALPA, had been discussed at yesterday’s meeting.
One of the key issues addressed by the airline’s management is the settlement of all retroactive public holiday payments and the board has decided, in consultation with the Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda, that the matter should be referred to the industrial court for resolution.
LIAT explained that it had followed the former existing law which exempted from holiday pay, pilots, cabin crews and management employees when working on public holidays. It was noted that the matter was subsequently reviewed at a meeting with the Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda in May 2009 and in the light of issues raised about ambiguities in the then existing law, LIAT’s management agreed to make the payments to those categories of employees even in advance of the revised ministerial order which is now in place.
It was noted that the payments began in July 2009 but according to the airline the pilots are contesting the date from which back payments should be made.
The pilot’s association also asked that concerns about the status of current pension deductions be addressed by the airline’s management and according to the release, The LIAT Pension Fund is administered by CLICO, and LIAT along with many persons and institutions across the region await a resolution of this matter.
LIAT stated that the issue is on the agenda of the three major shareholder Prime Ministers and is being given the highest priority and according to the airline, it looks forward to a satisfactory solution to the matter and the airline noted that it has been keeping all staff, including pilots, abreast of developments.
LIAT’s management stated that it looks forward to the report of the Arbitration Panel, which was set up to address issues affecting the two bodies, in the near future. “We are fully committed to complying with its findings”, the airline stated in the release.
The airline’s management expressed surprise at the basis for industrial action taken by the pilots, given the issues highlighted by the pilot’s association, adding that the Caribbean public is being held to ransom where the issue is concerned.
LIAT also noted that all the issues raised were the subject of on-going discussions between LIALPA and the airline’s management and it noted that the Board has instructed the Management of the airline, “to take definitive steps to end the intermittent unwarranted industrial action by pilots”.
The airline stated that it views the action by the pilots as irresponsible and urges that airmen return to work immediately, “in order to provide the services critical to the socio-economic wellbeing of the region”.
LIAT’s management has been plagued with disputes with the airline’s management over the years, this latest dispute leaving passengers in various Caribbean destinations stranded and with limited travel options between each Caribbean territory.
The airline, which has been facing financial problems in keeping its flights in the air, operates two flights daily to Guyana.
