LIAT shareholders meet in St. Vincent

The Prime Ministers of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines will meet on Monday to discuss the future viability of regional airline LIAT, according to a report on www.cananews.net.



The three countries are the main shareholders of the airline and Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda said, without elaborating, that the meeting, hosted by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who has lead responsibility for aviation matters within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), would review several proposals.



The meeting, which is also to be attended by the Barbados leader David Thompson, comes as the airline\'s management and staff remain at loggerheads over a decision not to remove pension funds that have been placed with the troubled regional insurance firm, CLICO.



In a July 13 memo to staff, management said that while they were seeking to safeguard the funds they were not going to withdraw pensions from the troubled institution.



But that decision has angered many staff members who fear losing their savings because of the problems facing CL Financial, the parent company of the Trinidad-based insurance company.



Spencer told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that the shareholder governments would discuss the pension funds matter while seeking to give workers the assurances that the funds were secure.



Meanwhile, pilots of the embattled airline have been given a July 30 date to challenge an injunction that prevents them from any protest action against the airline until their wage negotiations are completed.



The injunction was granted by the Industrial Court last month after members of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) staged a sick-out resulting in the cancellation of several flights.



The pilots argue that the injunction stripped them of their right to take industrial action at a time when they were unable to hold successful negotiations with management.



LIALPA Chairman Michael Blackburn said his members were unhappy with a decision by the airline to award bonuses to management, while at the same time asking other staff to work for lower salaries.



The pilots say they are also owed compensation for working on public holidays.

The Kingstown meeting also comes against the backdrop of numerous delays that have affected LIAT\'s regional passengers, who are also complaining about the high cost of intra regional travel.