Some LIAT workers who were laid off when the airline almost went out of business nearly three years ago, are still fighting for a severance settlement.
The Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union (ABWU) has urged the governments of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to get involved in rescuing cash-strapped regional carrier LIAT.
ABWU General Secretary David Massiah has written to Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, calling on governments to come together and devise a plan to aid the airline and support employees laid off in March 2020 after it suspended operations when the pandemic exacerbated its financial woes.
The governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, and St Vincent & the Grenadines - the four major shareholders of LIAT – resolved four months ago to liquidate the debt-ridden airline and transfer its assets to a new company, LIAT 2020 (Antigua). The existing airline has been in court-appointed administration in Antigua and Barbuda since July 2020.
It continues to operate three ATR42-600s and holds an Antiguan Air Operator’s Certificate and EU Third Country Operator authorisation for flights to French and Dutch territories in the Caribbean. It operates about 50 flights a week, 90 percent less than its 500 weekly services before the pandemic. The result has been a lack of access for air cargo and passengers to the detriment of tourism, trade, employment, business, and social relations.
Meanwhile, laid-off workers are still awaiting their pay-outs.
Last year Antigua and Barbuda promised the equivalent of US$750,000 in severance pay to former employees in Antigua, French Caribbean News reported. But they have received little or nothing.
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