Prime Minister Gaston Browne has rejected as “inequitable” talk that Antigua & Barbuda alone should bear the cost of severance payments of all of the workers based here.
The majority of LIAT employees are based in Antigua & Barbuda, in excess of 300 of them.
Prime Minister Browne told parliament over the weekend that this could see the country paying close to $80 million dollars in severance.
St. Vincent Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said one suggestion is for each shareholder government to bear the cost of its employees.
This would mean that St. Vincent would be just about $2 million and Barbados about $17 million with Antigua & Barbuda paying nearly 80 million.
Browne said any decision on severance payments should be based on shareholding, with Barbados being the majority shareholder of LIAT.
He said the employees in Antigua served the entire region and not just Antigua.
A meeting has been scheduled for July 31st to discuss winding up of LIAT. Government’s Chief of Staff Lionel Max Hurst said another meeting to discuss an alternative to the liquidation of LIAT was cancelled on Monday and has not been rescheduled.
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It seems like somebody figures are wrong it was 500 and now this story is saying 300+ employed by LIAT in Antigua ?
The operate word is based in ANU. Think you know LIAT also has employees in BDS, SLU, SVN etc
Gaston right! Barbados has the most shares so they should be the ones paying.
Maybe in the private sector, but probably not with government-owned entities.
Arent they governed by the same company law. Shareholders in this case are responsible for the debt of the company pro rate the shares they own
Why? Antigua wanted the HQ there, they employed the majority of staff. Antigua now recognise that Barbados had the majority shares? HQ ought to have been in Barbados period.
The head quarter cannot changed because another shareholder has acquired majority share. if that is so than the headquarter would change each time the shareholder majority change
He who gets the most benefits out of LIAT must pay.He who calls for the tune usually pays the piper and or fiddler.It is so true that Antigua had the most of all LIAT Employees.So why should other countries pay the severances for those employees who worked in Antigua.When in fact most of the monetary gains were contributed to ANTIGUA by those said employees.
You are so right. I tip my hat to you.
Actually it should also fall on the person who had the most say (largest share holder), since at the end of the day, its their decisions (via their ability to appoint more directors) which helped to place us where we are today. As far as benefits, how much in airports taxes did BDS collect from LIAT vs ANU, within the past 5 years since BDS actually become its base of operations
I don’t know where you get your information from, but Barbados benefited the most of all the Islands from LIAT. The south is were most of the profitable routes are lately. Not the northern Islands. So if anything Barbados would have to pay the most anyway. But that’s not how it goes in business. Profits are shared according to the ratio of the shares. Not according to who has the most employees. Therefore the share ratio is used for distribution of the losses/debt.
Usually shareholders are only liable up to their share capital, however these shareholders have make it there business over the years to be involved in LIAT’s operation as well, and that is what’s make them liable for the debts of the company.
When last LIAT had a profit?
you’re asking the most obvious question. Of which you know the answer. Therefore just look at the balance sheet and see the retained earnings. Negative. But that is not alarming. Governments are not like private companies. They don’t go out of business. They are into perpetuity That is why you do not write off government’s debts.
It is amazing that when honey flowing, everyone wants a piece of LIAT.
Now death is in the air, no one – not even Barbados who didn’t want to sell Antigua theur extra shares a few short months ago, or has been agitating for the base to be in Barbados, want to deal with the issues.
The Antiguan government needs to lick their wounds and move on. Stop begging and embarrassing yourself.
I believe the government, in moving forward with LIAT (if they decide) should find a private person who knows what they’re doing, to get in there and run the company. Antigua can keep shares, but let it be private.
if you place inter-Caribbean in private hands it will not be long before certain routes will be abandoned before they are not profitable, or you will have infrequent and unreliable service. A private business does it for profit for its shareholders. Remember we had American Eagle competing with LIAT and then we had Caribbean Star. They chose only the profitable routes to go after LIAT and yet they did not survive. Air travel between the Islands should be considered a necessary service. Even if one person want to leave from Montserrat or Dominica to go to another Island this service must be available at least once a week. And the governments of the region need to collectively pay towards this. And the larger islands need not to be selfish and pay he lion share of this service as they benefit the most. Otherwise what you’ll get is that certain small Islands will not be able to afford air transportation. And the only thing that will happen is isolation of those islands. And they will only accessible via sea transport. That would set us back hundreds of years.
Picksence if u have a workforce of 800 and 500 working in Antigua that means 300 working in the other islands Barbados st Lucia Grenada st Vincent Trinidad n Tobago Guyana plus a few others.
I wonder what will happen to the monies persons paid for Liat airline tickets. Also I noted that persons that came here on vacation are now stranded and has to be paying ECD$150.00 every month to immigration for extension of time, funny how only one month they give them ata time lol ! I guess they will be paying that ECD$150.00 for many more to months to come. It seems the government is just milking those stranded here.
I know the government has to make money but making people pay 150 every month for being stranded here is bare *****ery.
What really is your problem? Everyday you come here cursing like you don’t want to be he r e, since you’re not one who’s stranded be the example and leave nah.
@Wadadli Man:Barbados wanted to sell their shares to Antigua.The Prime Minister “balked “when he heard the price for such shares,US$44 MILLION.In my opinion he was correct.The price point was too high.Barbados wanted to poke Antigua’s eyes out for those shares with that high of a price.
How strange that would be. When you have profits you do not share according to who has more employees, but when you have debt you want to share it that way. Sorry Ralph, Lovell and Baldwin can’t count but this PM Gaston Browne was a banker and has run his many businesses and surely can count. And very well too. So wheel and come again. Both you and Mia. Ya’ll cannot fool the guy.
Now I know that Caribbean unity is dead on arrival. People will always take advantage of us black people because we cannot unite on any causes. Police shootings and other form of disadvantage against the black race will continue until we learn to work together.
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