LIAT airlines to terminate 103 more employees

LIAT airline continues to terminate its employees as the carrier is facing a massive financial crisis. After terminating 600 people, the airline has decided to show out to 103 more.

Cleveland Seaforth, the Antigua and Barbuda court-approved Administrator of LIAT, made the declaration in a letter named Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley and eight other CARICOM leaders earlier this week.

Prime Minister of Dominica, Dr. Roosevelt Skerrit, Antigua and Barbuda’s Gaston Browne, Trinidad and Tobago’s Dr. Keith Rowley, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines were also named in the letter.

Seaforth mentioned a possible legal battle that could be taken upon them with regards to their monetary commitments to the LIAT employees.

The LIAT administrator requested Barbados PM Mottley to support in paying the EC$79 million in severance owed to the 564 workers previously put on the breadline.

He further mentioned in the letter that 564 people have already been terminated by the airline, and 103 employees will also be shown out once the restructuring process completes.

Seaforth revealed that as at April 30, 2020, the total outstanding entitlements to workers across the region amounted to EC$119,006, 962.

Furthermore, he termed the evidence that the employees were unpropitious to receive any significant compensation from the selling of the LIAT estate.

Seaforth declared that aside from any potential severance which may arise from the LIAT estate, the Antigua and Barbuda Government has intimated it is prepared to allow the staff up to a maximum of 50 percent of their severance either by cash, land or government bonds or a blend of the three.

He noted that the letter is to create a request to the respective governments for consideration to be given to the payment of employees’ severance entitlements of approximately EC$79 million.

The airline official then sought to make out a “strong” case for the hundreds of “distress” workers from Barbados and other Caribbean nations to be settled their outstanding payments without further delay.