LIAT EMPLOYEE TERMINATIONS STILL ONLY TEMPORARY

Cleveland Seaforth

Court-appointed LIAT Administrator Cleveland Seaforth says no LIAT employees have been permanently laid off.

More than 500 employees were relieved of their duties before the Administrator came in on July 27 but Seaforth outlines the team has met with LIAT’s current 166 employees and the dialogue has been encouraging. He says Department Heads are currently determining the absolute minimum staff complement required and by yesterday another 40 had been temporarily laid off. Communication with those furloughed indicates a timeline of ‘not exceeding 6 months’. Only the Courts can determine permanent terminations.

To date, commitment has been received from the Governments of Antigua & Barbuda and Grenada to cover salaries for May to July. While Grenada will cover May/June salaries for Grenada-based employees, Antigua & Barbuda will seek to cover the salaries of regional employees.

Seaforth says he understands the situations under which current employees work and encourages a communal approach to saving the airline.