LIAT pilots on the brink of industrial action

Passengers who have opted to use LIAT as their mode of travel after midnight tonight, may have to make alternative arrangements or pay keen attention to special advisories as the union representing the airline pilots has threatened to withold labour over a stalled wage agreement.
The Leeward Island Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) notified its members, by way of an internal Memorandum yesterday, that, “In the event that LIAT fails to pay pilot salaries by midnight of May 24, 2017, the Executive Council will be executing a mandate received from the floor by directing protest action by all permanent pilots or full members of LIALPA.”
The document which was leaked to OBSERVER media stated that “the action would take the form of a sit-in at various airports and possible picketing on Thursday, May 25, 2017”. The protest is expected to continue for three to four days.
The pilots were advised to report to work as normal; sign in to work; refrain from signing off on any flight document; and not to board any LIAT aircraft and take flight.
“You are to remain out of view from the travelling public until further instructed by a LIALPA Executive Council Member. The Association would arrange refreshments and would be seeking to provide you with a comfortable resting area. These designated rest areas would be indicated to you in a subsequent email,” the memo read.
Pilots, who are still on probation and who are not full members of LIALPA were asked to ignore the instructions and were encouraged to go to work as normal.
The threat of action from the pilots came after the management of the regional carrier allegedly failed to honour a wage agreement that was reached in January.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)