Prime Minister Gaston Browne Unveils Progress on LIAT Revival Plan

1. What Gaston is proposing to do is illegal. In the past the Pilot’s Union would have brought an injunction against him. He has bled them dry, leaving them unable to mount a fight.

   My advice to them is to have any severance they will earn in the future, be backed by a fidelity bond.

2. Huh huh huh?

   So the deal about Air Peace has suddenly changed or disappeared, not that I was onboard with all that hogwash anyway, but where is Air Peace in all these negotiations?

   This man is all hype and full of lies.. Another Donald Trump to rartid that we have here in Antigua.

   Another wasted 12mil on unserviceable planes.
   Money down the drain..that’s all this man does, waste the tax payers money like it is his own, even though I highly doubt any planes are being bought anyway.

   Pure hype and a bag of lies this man brings to the table.

   How the hell people even believe in this “folk tongue” liar.

   This has got to be strangest thing I’ve ever seen..smdh.

3. “fork tongue”

4. @Islanman26
   You got it right, and here is why.

   Gaston and his boys feel comfortable in putting out this junk; that can easily be debunk, for the Opposition Parties and The Media are asleep.

   -The proposal has garnered initial approval from all shareholder governments involved in the former airline. OK

   -One of the prime ministers has already signed in agreement, with others expected to follow suit shortly. That’s a secret. No guarantee the others will sign.

   -This includes seeking approval from the court and subsequent payments facilitated through the Caribbean Development Bank. The Court has been rubber stamping Gastons requests, so approvals are readily available. CDB payment aren’t questionable at this point since there is no information given on the conditions of payment.

   – This critical agreement entails the purchase of three aircraft for US$12.1 million,
   The necessity for additional funds to rectify issues with two out of the three aircraft.

   – no figures or estimate as to the requisite additional funds

   – approximately $7 million, need to be restoring LIAT’s fleet to full operational capability.
   Air Peace, which is slated to bolster LIAT’s fleet with three additional aircraft within the next 45 to 60 days.

   -GOAB provides 3 aircraft and Air peace provides 3 aircrafts; but they get 70% of LIAT 2020. Sound like a typical Gaston Browne deal.

   All of this is put out boldly by Gaston for he knows the Media and the Opposition Parties do not have the wherewithal to analyze and question what Gaston and his Cabinet is doing to the Antigua and Barbuda future generations’.

5. And what agreement are these other governments signing? Is it the no objection agreement that was supposed to have been signed several weeks ago. Gaston Brown seems to be totally lost.

6. Gaston boy clutching at straws . trying to dodge amendments that your own Government made to laws.

   The adjustment that his Government made to the labour laws to make a change in ownership Banks operating in Antigua from happening easily are coming back to bite him .

   A LIAT(1974) Ltd with its structure intact would have solved all of these shenanigans needed to get a new entity up and running .

   However the amendments to the labour act in 2019 would have triggered a liability to pay severance by the new owner or majority shareholder if LIAT (1974) Ltd had been sold or a majority of shares had been sold to a new entity or person.

   ==========================================================
   “THE ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA LABOUR CODE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2019
   No. 9 of 2019
   AN ACT to amend the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code, Cap. 27 for incidental and connected purposes.”

   “C40. Right to severance pay generally
   An employee whose terms of employment with an employer and his predecessors has in aggregate exceeded one year is entitled to severance pay upon termination of said
   employment by the employer for reasons of redundancy or as a result of the sale of assets or other means of disposal of the undertaking to a successor-employer.”

   “C44. Limitations on severance pay; offer of equivalent employment.
   (1) An employee who is entitled to severance pay under section C40 by reason of a sale of the undertaking to a successor-employer may exercise the option to accept severance pay from the predecessor-employer.
   (2) An employee who has exercised the option to accept severance pay from the predecessor-employer ceases to be an employee of that undertaking, but may subsequently accept a new offer of employment from the successor-employer.
   (3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), an employee who is entitled to severance pay—
   (a) may exercise the option not to accept severance pay from the predecessor-employer; and
   (b) shall continue employment with the successor-employer; and
   (c) shall have all benefits, rights and privileges which are due to that employee preserved; and
   (d) shall in the event of a subsequent entitlement to severance arising, have his tenure of employment for severance purposes be calculated from the date of his original hiring by the first of a series of predecessor-employer and shall have that severance paid by the successor-employer computed on the basis of his full tenure of employment by the successor-employer and all predecessor-employers.”

   4. Consequential amendment
   The Banking Act, No. 10 of 2015 is amended by repealing section 176(g) and replacing it as follows—
   “(g) an employee employed by the transferor financial institution immediately before the date of the transfer may exercise the option subsequently upon the transfer—
   (i) to accept severance from the transferor financial institution in accordance with section C44(1) of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code, Cap. 27, and in which case, that employee shall not be considered an employee of the transferee financial institution unless that employee accepts a new offer of employment from the transferee financial institution as provided for under section C44(2); or
   (ii) not to accept severance from the transferor financial institution under section C44(3) and shall continue as an employee of the transferee financial institution on terms and conditions no less favourable than those on which the employee was so employed immediately before the date of the transfer, save that no director, secretary or auditor of the transferor financial institution shall by virtue only of a Banking Business Vesting Order become a director, secretary or auditor, as the case may be, of the transferee financial institution.”

7. Repeat: The Media and the Opposition Parties are asleep.

   The Bahamas is a member state of the CARICOM community and there is a successful privately owned airline run by a black woman called Western Airline Bahamas.

   I have flown them in and out of Nassau to Bimini, and Exuma.
   They are the world’s largest black owned and run airline.

   Reminds me of LIAT in the old days

   If Gaston Browne was looking for a legitimate partner. Western Airlines is a much better partner than Air Peace.

   What else to they the Opposition and the Media need to know before they start talking and asking questions?

   Sometimes I wonder if Gaston has worked witchcraft on them or is paying them off.

   LIAT is such a local and regional issue and nothing coming out from the Opposition or the Media

   • You say the Western Airlines is run by a black woman. We all know that is anathema to Gaston. A black woman? Where you going with that?

8. Well said COMMENTATOR.

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