More On LIAT

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – LIAT returned to the skies Thursday after some of the pilots who staged a two-day sickout reported for work.
The pilots were standing in solidarity with Chairman of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) Chairman Captain Michael Blackburn, who was terminated on Monday.

The company said the outspoken senior pilot had irreparably damaged the employer-employee relationship with his public comments about the airline’s safety record among other matters deemed vexing.
The resumption of service was anything but smooth sailing though with LIAT Chief Executive Officer Brian Challenger putting passengers on notice that it would take a minimum of two days for normality to return to the schedule.


Reports indicate the passengers’ frustration remained at a high across the region as travellers stranded since Tuesday had to queue up, in some instances, behind those booked to travel yesterday.
LIAT said that 50 per cent of the flights scheduled to leave Antigua took off.
Meanwhile, media reports out of Barbados and Dominica provided a snapshot into some of the chaos caused by the protest action.
Ticketing agents at Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados had to call police to keep order. Irate travellers in Dominica were equally boisterous as they vied for the limited seats.


Passenger dislocation and catching up with the schedule were not the only kinks remaining on Thursday.
Representatives of LIAT and LIALPA met for a marathon session mediated by Minister of Labour Dr Errol Cort.
Sources told OBSERVER there was no agreement reached and the session will resume on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) weighed in on Blackburn’s termination, calling it absurd and unacceptable.
The TUC said LIAT’s management violated “decent labour relations process” and assured LIALPA of “unequivocal support.”
Whereas the TUC’s support was solid, there were signs that the membership of the Antigua & Barbuda Workers Union (ABWU) was on less certain ground.
A source told OBSERVER that at a meeting on Wednesday night, while some people were staunch in support, others wanted to know what would happen if Blackburn is reinstated.
The source said the ABWU decided it would continue to press on with the issues directly impacting its membership.


Meanwhile, reports also surfaced yesterday of a cold front between LIALPA and the Leeward Islands Flight Attendants Association (LIFAA) after the later declined to join the two-day protest.


Another twist in the salvo came from Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves.
Speaking on OBSERVER AM yesterday, he expressed the desire to liquidate LIAT and move to another iteration, LIAT 2012, with additional shareholders.
Gonsalves specifically mentioned Dominica and St Lucia, saying he was aware that the leaders of those countries are keen to invest in the regional airline.
In addition to St Vincent, the other shareholder governments are Antigua & Barbuda and Barbados.

More On LIAT Sickout

December 7, 2011 By Glenn Pew, Contributing Editor,

Pilots at LIAT, a Caribbean airline, this week took action, crippling their employer with a sickout that cancelled at least 110 flights when their union leader was fired shortly after suggesting that pilots' pensions had been mismanaged and lost by the airline. Captain Michael Blackburn had worked for LIAT for more than 35 years and chaired the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA).

In November, Blackburn, as head of LIALPA, sent a letter to LIAT management stating that the carrier's decision to invest pilot pension funds into a now-failed investment program went against a court order and took place without consultation of company pilots. Blackburn also made public derogatory statements about the airline. Soon thereafter, the veteran captain was accused of a safety violation. Monday, he was dismissed. His fellow pilots responded, Tuesday, with a sickout action that cancelled nearly all LIAT flights. The union has vowed that the fight is not over.


In his letter, Blackburn said that a court had ordered the pilots' pension money to be paid into a provident fund. He said that because the carrier ignored the order and the pilots pensions were subsequently lost to a bad investment, the carrier should be held liable for all contributions to date, plus interest. Blackburn then found himself under investigation, according to the Antigua Observer, for allegedly ignoring instructions from air traffic controllers and forcing another aircraft to take emergency measures. Blackburn claimed no knowledge of the alleged incident and threatened legal action.

"If anybody makes any allegation against me that they can't prove, I am going to sue them. And I don't make idle threats," he said. During this timeframe, Blackburn also stated on a radio program that LIAT was less safe than it had been in years past, when it had fewer managers. Roughly one week after his comments, Blackburn was fired. LIAT published a press release on the firing, stating it took the action based on legal advice.

According to LIAT, Blackburn's efforts constituted "a deliberate attempt to bring the company into public disrepute." Union leaders believe the firing was punitive and based on Blackburn's actions while working in his capacity as a union leader. They are seeking immediate reinstatement of Blackburn. A coalition of unions has sent a letter to LIAT CEO Brian Challenger, stating that they will take any action necessary to achieve this objective.

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/pilot_blackburn_union_leader_fired_liat_lialpa_pension_safety_205850-1.html

LIAT Statement
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, December 07, 2011 – On Tuesday 6th December and Wednesday 7th December, members of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) called in sick throughout the LIAT network, effectively shutting down the company’s flight operations and stranding thousands of passengers throughout the region. On both days only one flight was able to operate moving from Antigua and Trinidad respectively.

This action was a response by LIALPA to the summary dismissal by LIAT of Captain Michael Blackburn, a senior pilot within the company. This action by the company, taken after long and careful consideration, reflects the advice received from various legal sources that Captain Blackburn’s behavior, and in particular his recent statements on the radio, had effectively destroyed the requirement for professional respect expected between an employer and its employees. In this case, summary dismissal as contemplated under the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code was recommended as the appropriate course of action.

In particular it is felt that Captain Blackburn’s statements with regard to the safety standards of the airline and the capability of its management were a deliberate attempt to bring the company into public disrepute. These statements, including those relating to safety have received widespread publicity throughout the region, and indeed the world, painting an unfair and distorted picture of LIAT’s operations and bringing the safety and reliability of the airline into question.

These actions can only hurt LIAT. In that regard the action by the pilots, while we may understand the emotions involved, are at best misguided and at worst selfish.  We are all aware of the economic crisis which the world faces. LIAT’s own situation is particularly grave given the intense competition that it now faces and the overall economic situation in the region. All around us companies in the region and throughout the world are undergoing staff reduction and other austerity measures forced upon them by the current economic downturn. During this time actions which needlessly alienate our customers and rack up huge cost cannot be condoned.

We therefore urge LIALPA to seek appropriate remedies for its grievance under the established procedures of the Labour Code and other legislation. Sick-outs and other forms of industrial action will not achieve the desired ends and will cost the company millions of dollars which it cannot afford at this, or any other, time.

In particular the company wishes to place on record that the recent action in relation to Captain Blackburn does not represent any attempt by the company to interfere with the collective bargaining process. The company will continue to attempt to engage with its 10 union representative bodies in a manner which allows for respectful dialogue and exchange aimed at promoting the advancement of the company and its employees.
 
ABOUT LIAT
LIAT is one of the leading Caribbean airlines. It is owned by regional shareholders, with major shareholders being the Governments of Barbados, Antigua & Barbuda and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. More information about LIAT may be found at www.liat.com.

MEDIA CONTACT
| Desmond L. Brown | Corporate Communications Manager | LIAT (1974) LTD | Head Office, Coolidge Business Complex | Sir George Walter Highway | Antigua | Telephone: +1 268 480 6222 | fax: +1 268 480 5638 | email: brownd@liat.com |

More LIAT

LIAT warned of more industrial action as pilot’s sickout continues

Chairman of the LIAT shareholder governments, Vincentian Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, said the sickout is putting the financially-struggling airline at risk of losing “hundreds of thousands of dollars”.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Wednesday December 7, 2011 - Industrial action by LIAT pilots has dragged into a second day; unions warn it could spread to other departments of the Caribbean airline.

The sickout has disrupted the airline’s morning flights, and the company said those scheduled for later in the day could be affected as well.

The pilots are demanding the immediate reinstatement of their colleague Captain Michael Blackburn, who has worked with the airline for more than 35 years, and also chairs the Leeward Islands Pilots Association (LIALPA).

Blackburn was informed Monday, the day he was fired, that this was due to inappropriate statements he made to the local media about management and airline safety.

LIALPA said the action is “unprecedented” since the chairman was speaking as a trade unionist at the time.

“Captain Blackburn was not afforded the opportunity to confirm or deny these charges. The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code speaks to the procedures for dismissals of employees and the laws of nature justice were not followed,” the group said in a media release.

“LIALPA insists that LIAT (1974) Ltd rescind the letter of termination of employment to Captain Michael Blackburn and reinstate him with immediate effect. LIALPA is requesting assistance of the other unions in this process.”

That call has been answered by the body that represents all LIAT unions, which is also demanding the “immediate and complete withdrawal” of Blackburn’s termination and his full reinstatement.

“We are prepared to take any and all actions necessary to achieve this objective and the pilots are assured of our collective solidarity,” stated Chester Humphrey, head of the coalition of unions, in a letter to LIAT CEO Brian Challenger.

The industrial action resulted in disruptions and cancellations of the airline’s 110 daily flights on Tuesday.

Chairman of the LIAT shareholder governments, Vincentian Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, said the sickout is putting the financially-struggling airline at risk of losing “hundreds of thousands of dollars”.

“You don’t close down an airline because a pilot has been dismissed…The pilots are shooting themselves in the feet,” Gonsalves said on a local radio station.

“LIAT is already, as a financial operation, marginal. It does a tremendous essential service across the region. … The pilots have to be responsible. You don’t pull a sickout; you don’t pull a strike in circumstances where, essentially, you have an essential service,” Gonsalves said.

The governments of Barbados, Antigua & Barbuda and St. Vincent & the Grenadines are the majority shareholders in the Antigua-based airline.

As a result of the action, LIAT said customers who wish to rebook can do so without charge for up to a week from the date of their original scheduled travel.

“Following the one-week grace period, passengers will be required to pay applicable fare and change fees when re-booking. Passengers who are unable to travel as planned due to the industrial action, at their request, will be issued a full credit for future travel,” it stated, adding that terms and conditions would apply. Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)



Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/antigua_news/522027.html#ixzz1fwG3YueQ

Second Failure of LIAT to get to Puerto Rico

LIAT had a protest sickout and that kept Sally from having her eye treated in Puerto Rico. This was our second try at getting to Puerto Rico, the first time we were abandoned in Saint Lucia. We'll try again and I'll explain in more detail. Here's one of the news stories.
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Regional airline LIAT's pilots all called in sick yesterday, disrupting the carrier's flights across the Caribbean.

"As a result of the industrial action, all of the company's (yesterday) morning services have been disrupted. This is also likely to affect the rest of (yesterday's) flights," the airline said in a statement out of its St John's, Antigua corporate offices yesterday.

The pilots were said to be protesting the firing of LIAT pilot Capt Michael Blackburn.
LIAT announced his termination of employment on Monday on its website. The airline gave no reason for his dismissal. 

Customers affected by the flight disruptions yesterday will be allowed rebook without charge for one week from the date of their original scheduled travel, the airline said. St Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves urged the pilots to return to their jobs, saying their action could result in the airline losing "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in revenue. He said their action was "unfortunate". 
 
LIAT is owned by regional shareholders, with major shareholders being the governments of Barbados, Antigua & Barbuda and St Vincent & the Grenadines.
It operates to 21 destinations including Trinidad and Tobago.


http://www.trinidadexpress.com/business/Pilot_fired__colleagues_sick_out-135145303.html