St. John’s, Antigua: A decision by intra-Caribbean airline LIAT to issue walking papers to 25 employees could result in region-wide industrial action, unions representing employees have warned, according to a report in the Antigua Observer.
Last week LIAT issued redundancy notices to all but three employees in its Cargo and Quikpak Department in a cost-cutting bid.
The Observer report said that the cargo section was launched one year ago and in a release issued on Tuesday, the cash-strapped airline announced plans for the further outsourcing of its Cargo and Quikpak operations at a number of its stations in the Caribbean.
News of the redundancy has not gone down well with the Antigua & Barbuda Workers Union, which pledged yesterday to embark on region-wide protest action if letters of dismissal were not withdrawn.
The ABWU said it requested a comprehensive management plan from LIAT to help better manage the lay-offs but the company has failed to provide, the Observer reported.
The union is further expressing dissatisfaction with how employees are being sent home, describing it as “premature.”
“As far as we are concerned, the discussions on how we are going to make those redundancies are still ongoing,” Senator David Massiah, ABWU General Secretary, ABWU told the local media.
“We are saying that if they do not retract these letters within a time, the company will face region-wide action,” he said.
The Observer report said that Massiah, who is also President of the Caribbean Congress of Labour, said he had commenced discussions with regional trade unions on how exactly to carry out the action.
He wants shareholder Governments to meet with regional unions in another bid to smooth out issues between LIAT and regional unions representing the company’s employees, the Observer reported.St. John’s, Antigua: A decision by intra-Caribbean airline LIAT to issue walking papers to 25 employees could result in region-wide industrial action, unions representing employees have warned, according to a report in the Antigua Observer.
Last week LIAT issued redundancy notices to all but three employees in its Cargo and Quikpak Department in a cost-cutting bid.
The Observer report said that the cargo section was launched one year ago and in a release issued on Tuesday, the cash-strapped airline announced plans for the further outsourcing of its Cargo and Quikpak operations at a number of its stations in the Caribbean.
News of the redundancy has not gone down well with the Antigua & Barbuda Workers Union, which pledged yesterday to embark on region-wide protest action if letters of dismissal were not withdrawn.
The ABWU said it requested a comprehensive management plan from LIAT to help better manage the lay-offs but the company has failed to provide, the Observer reported.
The union is further expressing dissatisfaction with how employees are being sent home, describing it as “premature.”
“As far as we are concerned, the discussions on how we are going to make those redundancies are still ongoing,” Senator David Massiah, ABWU General Secretary, ABWU told the local media.
“We are saying that if they do not retract these letters within a time, the company will face region-wide action,” he said.
The Observer report said that Massiah, who is also President of the Caribbean Congress of Labour, said he had commenced discussions with regional trade unions on how exactly to carry out the action.
He wants shareholder Governments to meet with regional unions in another bid to smooth out issues between LIAT and regional unions representing the company’s employees, the Observer reported.
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