Leader of the Opposition Jamale Pringle is asking what the Gaston Browne Administration is doing to assist hundreds of former LIAT workers, most of whom are still unemployed after being severed last year.
The Administration, to date, has not offered any relief to the displaced workers here. The Prime Minister has only suggested that they avail themselves of training at The UWI – Five Islands as part of retooling for future employment.
While the Government has done everything in its power to ensure the airline flies again, Pringle says it has failed to take the plight of the former employees into consideration.
He notes that in the 2021 Appropriations Bill, only a small paragraph makes mention of the workers – and that is to say the Government will do everything in its power to address their concerns.
However, no mention is made of an actual plan to pay them severance, Pringle points out.
Meanwhile, none of the other shareholder governments appear to be making efforts to pay workers their severance and other entitlements, although two of them had resolved to do so.
But online media reports indicate that a well-known social activist has donated food supplies to the former employees based in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Two weeks ago, staff who were dismissed launched an online protest that detailed their plight and asked that they be paid. While the video has stirred the interest of private individuals, it appears that the governments at whom it was directed remain unmoved.
Court-appointed Administrator Cleveland Seaforth has warned CARICOM Heads that they are exposing themselves to legal action if efforts are not made to settle with the severed workers.
