Prime Minister Gaston Browne
Prime Minister Gaston Browne said the government has all rights to withdraw the compassionate payment offer to former LIAT workers if the situation remains contentious
The government had initially offered a 50% compassionate payment offer which was not welcomed by the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union; who said they needed further clarity on the offer.
That offer has since been reduced to 32% but the matter is still combative.
“I’m not going to dupe anybody. And it’s not because I’m harsh. I believe in standing on the truth. We said to the LIAT workers that if they did not accept the 50%, we will withdraw it…well, we haven’t withdrawn it as yet, but we’ve since reduced it to 32%. And it is within the right of the government to withdraw it completely because we have no legal liability to the workers of LIAT,” Prime Minister Browne said.
Browne continues to maintain his stance that it would be unreasonable to expect the government to pay 100% severance which amounts to over $120M
“How long are we going to hold out on this offer? And we made it abundantly clear from the beginning that this offer is not indefinite. And again, I’m not trying to be harsh here. I’m not being uncaring. In fact, I’m probably one of the most caring politicians you find anywhere in the world… But at the same time, as a prime minister, myself and my team, my ministers, we have a governance responsibility to the entire nation, not to a group of people called LIAT workers…And again, I say this with no ill will towards the LIAT…” Browne said
Adding, “I just hope that the reality has set in and that they will look at the offer seriously and not force us to take another position that will not necessarily be to their benefit”,
Meanwhile, since Browne made the compassionate payment offer to former LIAT workers, others who are owed severance from their former employees have come forward with demands
“The Stanford Workers who worked at Antigua Sun and some other entities within the Stanford Group recently approached the government for us to pay them the severance that was not paid by the Stanford Estate on the basis that we have no legal obligation to LIAT and we are paying the LIAT workers 32%. They are saying that they should get paid too. So, you can see the dangerous precedent that we are setting here,” he said
The government has justified its decision to offer a compassionate payment to LIAT workers because of its shares in the entity
Last week, Opposition Senator and General Secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union David Massiah questioned the need for a further extension of the court-appointed process for LIAT 1974, which nosedived back in 2020.
When the government appointed Cleaveland Seaforth, they said he would remain in that position for an initial 120 days.
But Massiah who has been at loggerheads with Prime Minister Gaston Browne over the issues of severance said the unions are yet to get a full update on the progress made thus far, following the 120 days expiration said
“I think that this the whole process, the whole exercise would have disenfranchised all the workers within LIAT and the creditors who are looking for a response long ago on this situation,” he said
Supporting Massiah was also Opposition Senator, Shawn Nicholas, who asked questions about the previous process under court-appointed receiver, Cleveland Seaforth.
Did the government own ANY shares in any of the companies of the Stanford group?? If not, stop “mixing apple and oranges”