LIAT’s Industrial Future Looking Bleak

Antigua St John's - LIAT is facing an uphill task as it attempts to implement staff cuts as part of its restructuring plans. The airline indicated to employees through their trade unions that it wants to shed 128 jobs by the end of December.

Antigua & Barbuda, where the bulk of the airline’s staff is based, is projected to lose 72 of its 599 employees. This represents a 12 percent decline. LIAT has found the going bumpy in its efforts to reduce its overall staff levels by 14 percent over the next two months.

Representatives from the nine trade unions involved were a no-show at a meeting slated for last Friday, leaving management in a quandary. In a letter addressed to the airline that indicated the unions would not attend, spokesman Senator Chester Humphrey of the Grenada Technical and Allied Workers Union said the unions are demanding a direct meeting with shareholder governments, as they have lost confidence in the management team.

Heads of three of the trade unions are on record as pointing the finger at the airline’s management for much of the breakdown in discussions. Head of the National Workers Union of St Lucia Lawrence Poyette said there are elements of management that would seem bent on fuelling the conflict between LIAT and its staff.

“I recalled several years ago, when human resources issues at the airline were handled by a single individual, we did not have the level of crises as we do now that the airline has a fully staffed Human Resources Department," Poyette said. "I am of the view that there are some people who feel that their best interests are served by creating conflicts between the airline and its employees."

Captain Michael Blackburn, chairman of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots' Association (LIALPA), raised serious concerns about the airline’s plans to downsize in a manner affecting the employment of line staff… while at the same time, the jobs at management levels have increased. He said the management positions at LIAT have increased in a few years from 34 to 55, including a manager of catering, when the airline does not even serve water on any of its flights.

“Why every time there’s a crisis at the airline, it’s the ordinary workers who have to make the sacrifices?" Blackburn asked. "Job losses are serious issues across the Caribbean, and we feel that if the line staff is to be let go, some of the management positions must go as well. Some managers make more money than prime ministers."