Pilots’ union head says LIAT meeting went better than expected

A meeting between shareholders and unions representing LIAT staff in Barbados on Monday went better than expected.
That was according to the President of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA), Captain Karl Burke, who spoke to OBSERVER yesterday.
The town hall-style meeting was held to discuss the financial crisis facing the Antigua-based airline.
Burke said the pilots have until March 20th to respond to the proposals and recommendations made by LIAT shareholders.
“We will have to meet, as a group, in Antigua and Barbados and then make a response to the shareholders,” he said.
“The discussions were open and frank and saw the unions as equal bargaining partners and we have a role to play in LIAT,” Burke added.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne said the regional airline is at the crossroads and cannot survive without the restructuring plan designed by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
The restructuring plan called for shareholders and even management and staff to make some serious sacrifices.
Among them was a proposed 5-percent pay cut for pilots and management.
Browne said it would also include the implementation of a minimum revenue guarantee for each route.