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.
JUST GET ‘RED JET’ IN THEIR IMMEDIATELY.
tell them do should do meger with air caraibe it long time better than liat
tell me is this the only airline who do bussiness in the caribbean island? the worse airline I have travel with, your baggage get lost and no one do nothing about it tell liat get their airline need compition that y they doing that
Monopoly always hurts and being ill prepared is just as bad. I cant believe this company in the past ten or more years have never seemed to have made a profit , always depending on the governments in the caribbean to rescue them yet our beloved prime minister seem to have gotten some ‘next level vision’ of invetsing or having shares in that inefficient and poorly managed company. If only Dominica’s best interest was being taken at heart by the Politicians we would not be in that “hold for ransom” situation of liat , Our international airport would have been long enough for REdjet , What a shame. With the eagle filing bankruptsy Will melvillehall airport become a ghost town when ever liat refuses to visit the Island. Caribbean airlines and British Airways are going to Grenada and some of the other islands just because they have an international airport, how is the night landing or rather “late afternoon ” landing helping us now? I think its time that caribbean governments or investors put money in a ferry service, I mean all those economic citizens we are buying all over the world, was’t that the underlying reason for having the economic citizenship program. At the end of the day i hope this situation open the minds of the powers that be in looking at the posibility of investing into a longer runway airstrip if they dont want to call it international airport.
we all know that liat has the monopoly when it comes to carriers in the Caribbean. they have raised their prices and their service is crap. the seats are falling off and when you come out from the plain you are wet, and we must fly them cause there is no other company that service all 22 countries yet they say” LIAT’s own situation is particularly grave given the intense competition that it now faces and the overall economic situation in the region”
that is just a load of crap and i do hope that our Government is not going to put any money into LIAT but try and get an other carrier to service Dominica or do what it have to so red jet can land here
Every time I turn around, LIAT is on strike…
No one can rely on them any more.
LIAT will go the way of Caribair and other Caribbean based airlines…
Well we have no other option right now. I really want to Pilots back to work because Christmas is around the corner.
I need LIAT.
I hope our Minister of Transport and team(Tourism Board of Dominica) had an emergency meeting to discuss alternatives.
I hope our leaders are not seating back at the mercy of LIAT.
This is the Time to Get a Commitment from REDJET.
THERE IS A MARKET FOR RED JET. WHERE ARE OUR NEGOTIATORS?
The Only thing it seems our leaders can negotiate are loans, more Loans and the Sale of PASSPORTS…
But seriously we need LIAT back in the Air today…
i agree with you. howeer our landing strip is not large enough for RedJet to land. The government needs to upgrade our strip for them to come
keep yourself inform with current happenings the problem is not that Redjet dont want to come to our island . the issue is that the runway is too short for them . Thats their reason for not coming to Dominica
so they did not expect retaliation den
the board caused the problem and trying to blame the pilots
“LIAT’s own situation is particularly grave given the intense competition that it now faces and the overall economic situation in the region.”
What a bunch of Baloney !!! If competitiion is so intense why are so many people stranded in Dominica with no alternative but to wait for LIAT to resume flights??
It just doh make no sense.
“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.”
And why did management not engage the Union reps in dialogue prior to dismissing Captain Blackburn??
There are more questions than answers. Maybe the comments of Captain Blackburn hit a soft spot. The truth offends and the saga continues.
From what I understand the Captain put the lives of his passengers and those in other aircrafts in jeopardy by deliberately disobeying the command of the tower and landing his aircraft when he was told that there were two other planes ahead of him.
That in my opinion justifies summary dismissal. He should never have been made to enter the terminal. If it was me, I would have been escorted from the plane in handcuffs
Capt. Blackburn has been flying with the company for 35 years, so obviously he knows a thing or two about safety! This is not what the management of LIAT gave as the reason for his dismissal.Let the record speak for itself!
Obviously enough other pilots agreed with what Blackburn said about LIAT or else they wouldn’t be going on strike for him. And LIAT claiming that Blackburn only said what he said to bring the company into disrepute does not explain why he would want that. You can never take what a company says about itself and about criticism as the truth.
He has a responsibility to his employer and I am sure that there are other means by which he can bring about change without destroying the hands that feed him. I hope that Liat stick to their decision and his career will be over not only as a pilot because no employer will hire him.
He is acting out like a child.
In addition, the pilots that went on strike is holding passengers hostage. When Liat fails, the striking pilots career will also be over because they are not professionals.
Dear LIAT management. Where have you been? it did not take Capt. Blackburn’s public comments to bring LIAT’s reputation into disrepute. He only vocalised, and mildly at that, the opinion already held by the general public and your customer base in particular, who have felt held hostage by your monopoly position and consequent poor service and lack of customer care.
so if those pilots decide to do that for a whole month then passengers a$$ is grass and liat will not take back Blackburn. The man spoke the truth LIAT want its employees to lie for them. Shameeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.