Former CAL CEO wants his job back

Lawyers for dismissed chief executive officer of Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL), Captain Ian Brunton, have accused the company of acting unlawfully and is demanding that it recant its dismissal letter.

Brunton, 65, was fired by letter last weekend amid media reports of tensions between Works and Transport Minister Austin 'Jack' Warner and the newly installed chairman of the airline, George Nicholas.

Caribbean Airlines said Brunton had "demitted office" and was replaced by Vice-President Robert Corbie, who would oversee the newly merged workforce of 1,866 employees at CAL and Air Jamaica.

But Brunton has refuted that, saying, through his lawyers, he received a termination letter "under the hand" of Nicholas with "astonishment and disappointment", given that there were no previous complaints about his performance.

The lawyers have asked that the decision be recanted with immediate effect, calling it "improper and unlawful".

The letter said Brunton oversaw a turnaround of the airline with shareholder equity increasing from US$110 million from the date of his appointment to US$164 million.

Media reports over the last weekend noted that Warner, who is now in Switzerland attending a meeting of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA), of which he is a vice-president, has had a verbal disagreement with Nicholas, whom he accuses of having a "complete lack of respect for me as the line minister". Warner said he was not told about the dismissal before it happened, or the reason for it.

Warner said there were a number of meetings about policy direction for CAL and the recent acquisition of Air Jamaica, as well as the purchase of nine new turbo prop aircraft by CAL at a cost of US$200 million from European manufacturer ATR.

Sources said the new board does not support the purchase of the new aircraft and Warner is reported to have disagreed with Nicholas about which company should supply the aircraft.

On Monday, the prime minister met with all the members of state-owned boards, including Nicholas, to resolve the tensions.

Brunton's attorneys are demanding that the airline say whether the CAL directors met and voted in favour of the CEO's termination.

- CMC