More trouble looms for LIAT

LIAT Landing. Photo credit:  Lennox Honychurch

There appears to be more turbulence ahead for LIAT, as workers are reportedly planning a protest that could further plunge the already struggling airline further into a financial ditch.

News coming out of St Johns is that the workers will stage some kind of industrial action soon, in solidarity with their former employees who are currently fighting for severance pay and other payments owed to them.

Member of the Leeward Island Airline Arian Blanchard said on Tuesday that the protest will take place throughout the LIAT network.

“The next move right now is we plan to protest in a few days and this is going to take place in the LIAT network. The unions are united, the employees are still like a family even though we have all been to hell and back. We will speak to more about the plans for the protest in the next few days,”

These workers are owed over 120 million dollars. These workers, about 500 of them, have been at loggerheads with the shareholder governments for almost two years over their payments.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister has made a compassionate payment offer to these workers but Blanchard said “regardless of the fact that he has offered what would be his fair share which is 35 percent entitlement which is also equal to 50 percent severance, he is trying to take all the charter rights for that amount so this is where we have the issue,” she said.

She said “If he was just offering that percentage, I don’t see that there would have been any issue with the employees accepting that but when you are saying that, it puts you between a rock and a hard place”.

Browne, dished out two million dollars in December which he said was part of the compassionate payment however over 90% of the LIAT workers rejected it.

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18 Comments

  1. January 16, 2022

    When I used that company long ago to go Saint-Lucia, I started to call them (L)ost (I)tems (A)ny (T)imes.

  2. Tt
    January 14, 2022

    Time to end that airline. The staff wanna hold a strike. Go right ahead, only a tiny fraction of people are using the failing airline. Ive witnessed people fly to Miami or NY to connect to st. Crois from st.lucia. thats more reliable than trying to fly their directly and thats insane.

  3. January 14, 2022

    LIAT is in no trouble. They are waiting for King Liar to bail them out this time not with $500,000.00 but with $2.4 billion. The $2.4 billion of the peoples’ money he has stored somewhere. How long ago did he promise to give an account of that $2.4 billion. I guess the money is still drying after getting wet. Everyone knows when an election is eminent it is a good time to cry to The King of Lies. Sa qua voleur.

  4. Jey Jey
    January 12, 2022

    Make new friends but keep the old. I am having much difficulty adjusting to the “new world system.” I live in a crazy society that is without conscience and heart. LIAT has been our air transport for many decades with a very good safety record; except time dependability. But come on people! We are being u grateful to the max. Not even God can please us. But we have a ways to go, and time will tell. People like to ask for trouble and when trouble comes they crying. No one seems to be thankful for the services which the LIAT airlines have given to us. Bunch of peegs.

    Hot debate. What do you think? Thumb up 3 Thumb down 8
  5. Toto
    January 12, 2022

    LIAT is a corpse and I not flying with no corpse, period.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 2
  6. Jonathan Y St Jean
    January 12, 2022

    At this point LIAT needs to be put on the garbage heap. It’s toast and the workers and their union just haven’t realized that yet. Some people who are as old as I will recall an international airline called Eastern which went belly-up like an arborlor. Businesses come and go and LIAT won’t be the last. Even Jeff Bezos has told his employees that one day Amazon will be no more. Most unions have outlived their usefulness and can’t think outside the box and come up with the elements of a paradigm shift. They resort to the same old habit of holding their golden goose and the customers to ransom for wage increases primarily. Dominica and Antigua alone can’t save LIAT from demise. Can’t the union and it’s members come up with a ferry service to replace the rotten old LIAT? Just saying. One thing for LIAT is it gave us safe service between the islands for a number of years and that will be remembered.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 3
    • Ibo France
      January 13, 2022

      Why talk so disparagingly about LIAT? There were areas LIAT fell woefully short ( punctuality, short notice of cancellation, etc.)

      It’s the shareholder governments who ran the airline into the ground. Have any of these governments ever do anything well? Look at the high national debt, unemployment, bad roads, dilapidated public edifices, poor healthcare systems, widespread poverty, high criminal activity, unlivable wages, minimal housing stock.

      LIAT was torpedoed by high landing fees, departure tax, airport rent, electricity, et cetera. Again, the shareholder governments are mostly responsible for the ‘demise’ of iron bird, LIAT.

      Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 1
    • Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
      January 14, 2022

      “At this point LIAT needs to be put on the garbage heap”(St Jean).

      You know there was a time when I would have supported that rhetoric, as I personally suggested in the past; nevertheless, without regret, I must say for the sake of the many relatives of mine who are both Dominica, and Antigua born employed by LIAT, I can no longer suggest the abandonment of LIAT!

      LIAT greatest problem is that it is a regional Airline, its route is limited; I see no reason why after more than seventy (70) years of operation, LIAT is still limited to island hopping!

      In the 1970’s the management made an effort, they had two commercial Jets, which made a few flights into Jamaica, and Miami, successful or not, Gerald Wats minister of tourism advised the powers that be in Dominica in order for the Airline to be more successful and Dominica benefit, we needed to build an International Airport, the labor party ignored the advice stating, “we doh have do money!”

  7. MAGWA CA
    January 12, 2022

    take the gpvernments to court for you all money. allu just protesting and then going back to work with nothing in allu hands

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 3
    • Andy
      January 13, 2022

      As if you forget they made a law which prevented anyone to take the company to court? Find out information first.

      • Magway ca
        January 14, 2022

        What nonesense you self talking there. You think u have good head. So many companies they taking to court all over the Caribbean for lack of payment. And you comming there with your bull crap. Man move there and go and stick your head in a crab hole

  8. January 12, 2022

    Expect turbulence when flying into the clouds. That is all LIAT. lol

    Hot debate. What do you think? Thumb up 2 Thumb down 6
    • Nudibranch
      January 13, 2022

      Every 5 years or so they “go under” and get bailed out. Upper management is the root cause, it always has been. The fact that the government here has not negotiated an alternate postal carrier in 5 years doesn’t seem to bother anyone. Even people at the post office have no idea what is going on.

      Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 1
  9. Anson Pantz
    January 12, 2022

    LIAT is a joke.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 3
  10. Bring back the kidnapped parrots
    January 12, 2022

    Shut it down completely and start over with different name new management and investments from people like Richard Branson. Repeating the same mistakes over and over is insanity. This once good airline dating from the 1960’s is through one and done no hope. American airlines can take over with jets from Florida. Who is benefiting financially and politically? It sure is not the people of Dominica.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 4
    • Criticism is easy
      January 13, 2022

      Why Richard Branson? Why not you?

  11. Zandoli
    January 12, 2022

    I don’t think these workers understand the weakness of the hand that they hold.
    If LIAT folds, they get nothing. My advice is to take what you can get and pray the airline can remain afloat.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 6
  12. Ibo France
    January 12, 2022

    The four shareholder governments (Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Dominica) should make an earnest effort to pay the former LIAT employees what rightfully belongs to them ($120 000 000). The other islands that LIAT served should also contribute.

    The stubborn refusal of these Caribbean governments to fully compensate these desperate former workers who are in dire straits, is downright inconsiderate and even criminal.

    We, the Caribbean people, are not our brother’s keeper. Once an issue doesn’t affect us personally, we turn a blind eye to the suffering of our brothers and sisters. Just remember this, today for me, tomorrow for you.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 23 Thumb down 2

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