The Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union is aware of recent comments Prime Minister Gaston Browne made in the media concerning the ongoing severance dispute between the former employees of Liat 1974 Ltd. and the shareholder governments.
Browne’s statements allege that the ABWU has been politically motivated in its advice to the former Liat workers. The ABWU views Browne’s comments as a deliberate distortion of the reality and mischievous as best!
The Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union maintains its position that while the shareholder governments may not have a legal obligation to the ex-workers, they have a moral responsibility to reach a mutual settlement with the former employees.
Such a settlement must take into consideration the workers’ reasonable expectations of their terminal benefits. This position is one that is held by all of our partner unions throughout the Caribbean; it is not the conjecture of a single union working in isolation to aid a political party.
As many have recognized, the real intent of Browne’s mischievous statements was to continue to manipulate the former workers into relinquishing their just claims to severance or fair settlement, by accepting his government’s “compassionate offer”. This disgraceful tactic is appalling but not surprising as Browne has made it his government’s mantra to bully and trample upon the rights of workers.
Browne’s “compassionate offer” is anything but compassionate! At best, it should only act as the starting point for discussions. To date, more than half of the workers have rejected this offer. The ABWU applauds the dozens of workers who have refused to trade-in their hard earned benefits for a fraction of the value.
Gaston Browne’s vehement objection to any form of dialogue towards settling the severance issue is unreasonable and unwarranted. Even his colleague Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, has called for a “humanitarian” solution that would involve some level of “compromise” by shareholder governments. Moreover, in April, Prime Minster of St. Luca, Phillip J. Pierre, committed to making severance payments to the non-management staff of the airline, even though his government is not among the shareholders.
The ABWU remains committed to securing a fair and reasonable settlement for the ex-employees of Liat, and we hereby reiterate our call for dialogue. We condemn any act of intimidation, manipulation and mischief by the Prime Minster or any of his agents.
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Who is the “boss” of the shareholders?
I know it’s not PM Brown.
Why is he making all of the decisions?
Ask him to say what is “COMPASSIONATE” about his offer?
Where is the land that was promised?
Etc etc
Change your name to “Duncy Bat”. Cause asking questions such as that really makes me wonder if you have any brains whatsoever.
Everybody know that PM Browne is a wicked and bad-minded evil soul.
@jarvis. u just described yourself
@ Ras : Sure !
That is because I live in ANTIGUA not Baltimore where you get running water!
I live in Antigua where I see the boys on the block with the hopeless lok in their eyes.
I live in Antigua where pensioners can’t get their money while Gaston Browne boasts how rich he is
I live in Antigua where I see beaches that I used to visit as a child now blocked off
I live in Antigua where farmers don’t get the privilege that the top dawg get
I life in Antigua where if you dare insult the top dawg he use his contact to get your bank information and broadcast it on his radio station.
I live in ANTIGUA where TOP DARG CUSS people on his radio station and tell lies on people,
I guess you must be ok with that!
It must be nice to live in Baltimore
I shall like to know the state of mind of the person so inclined to hurl the most disparaging insults over the internet to an anonymous user in the comment section.
Mr.brown is just feeling sorry for the workers so he is makeing an offer ,but this offer is not enough working so hard it’s not easy and giving this can of money for people who work with liat for over 30yrs no no not good enough .liat pretending to say they don’t have money it’s a lie .
So what are you saying. Offering someone 50% of what he is owed is not a good offer. Even when this is a good faith gesture. I know people who have died and still have not gotten their severance from Half Moon Bay. And from Sugar Mill Hotel. And many more places. You know how long Food City closed and some people still waiting to get paid. You guys do not seem to understand that a bird in the hand is better than 10 in the bush
From The Sideline: You sound like a weak push-over! The workers have a right to take a stand and demand a fair settlement. These Liat workers are far smarter and strategic than you think they are. Have you even seen the “compassion” offer? The workers will go home with far less than 50% in cash. The actual cash component is the smallest part of the offer. Some workers that accepted the offer have gone home with less than $3000 after many years of work with Liat. How long would that last you in Gaston Browne’s economic powerhouse? The risk to benefit reward in this case learns more towards continued advocacy for fair settlement.
I never said will never say that they do not have the right. But history has shown what happened to people who think they can get 100%. By the way the 50% offer is different for everyone. It’s a combination of Cash, Bonds and Land. And it depends how large your severance is. So, you have not seen the offer at all. It is different for each employee. I guess the future will tell who was right and who was wrong. Remember you cannot out severance. But once you get land and a bond you will it to your children.
Why won’t this so-called “union” take the matter to court? Or better yet David Massiah et al can offer their pension as payment towards the workers
Because they know they have no legal grounds to stand on. Who will they sue? The government? remember the court in Barbados gave the LIAT Pilots leave to sue the Antigua Government for introducing the Act that allowed LIAT to go in administration. I wonder what they are waiting on. Antigua belongs to a totally different Jurisdiction.
@ sideline jurisdiction it’s a funny thing yes LIAT planes could be cease on another islands with different laws and not bias courts like in Antigua so you see there are many ways to skin a cat trying to sidestep or getting out of paying those workers what is rightfully belongs to them ain’t going work and you ain’t even talking about all those millions owed to the ticket holders from my perspective LIAT is finish without an investigation to show where did all those millions of dollars go someone must be held accountable before you can ask people to invest millions.
Here you go again with your lies. Antigua has no court for itself. We belong to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. https://www.eccourts.org/
Go and educate yourself. No politician can appoint a judge in Antigua. All our judges come from other Islands as far as Guyana. Are you guys not tired of spreading lies?
@ sideline So your implying not one judge in Antigua is a Antiguan and Antigua does not have a court for itself well if this is so I now see why your in this situation up creek without a paddle and educated people would have been calling for an investigation into Liat from day one and not trying to stiff the workers out of what is rightfully theirs.
Does anyone have the exact figures for how many people we’re employed by LIAT in Antigua numbers were going around over 600 could the sideline guy give some insight he seams to know everything that going on with LIAT and browne boy.
ABWU. Dem jus bex cause Gaston disburse the money directly so dem can’t get 10%
How come they couldn’t protect the Jolly Beach workers severance and their funds
Since when ABWU collects a percentage of people’s severance? Stop peddling falsehoods! Who has Jolly beach workers’ money? Isn’t it Gaston Browne’s Namco that has claimed ownership of the property? Its obviously their responsibility to pay the severance, and the union’s responsibility is to hold them accountable; and that the union has been doing.
@Tell it like it is
Either you are stupid or pretending not to understand a thing I wrote. We belong to a group of Islands called the Eastern Caribbean. Some things we just do not do on our own. Like having a Central Bank. We do not have a Central Bank for Antigua. And that goes for the courts as well. But when you suggest that educated people would have been calling for an investigation into LIAT from day one, I wonder what you ate. Because what is coming out of you doesn’t look good. Antiguans are one of the most educated people in the Caribbean. Check the many accomplishments of our people, especially abroad. And there is nothing to investigate in Liat. Nothing has been swindled. The company just could not run profitably or even break-even. Governments year in year out had to put in additional capital. Many CEOs came from far and near, but no one could save the ship. And the shareholders now finally gave up and pulled the plug. Employees may have a severance claim, however if there is no money left, so be it. All over the world when companies go out of business employees are just sent home. In Antigua we have this thing about a right to severance. Well, if a company is insolvent, where is the money going to come from? People need to wake up. Severance is just an illusion. If you get fired from a job and it turns out to be unjust, then you can claim unfair dismissal and severance. But not if the company goes bankrupt.
@ sideline So because your saying nothing has been swindled the rest of us must believe that now that’s the reason why investigations are carried out to get the facts and evidence to prove weather a crime had taken place and not once did tell it like it is question the education of the antiguan people it seams you have an agenda and that is to defend anything that browne boy say or do how educated would be investors to take millions and invest in liat.
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