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Prime Minister Gaston Browne will be engaged in discussions with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley this weekend.
He is focused on garnering support from LIAT 1974 shareholders to approve a proposal to pay severance to former workers.
The governments of Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica governments have already voiced their agreement with the proposal.
Browne is proposing the release of a $12.1 million escrow, which is currently held, by suggesting that the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) release the lien on the planes.
This move will enable the facilitation of severance payments for former LIAT employees.
Additionally, Prime Minister Browne is advocating for reducing the lien’s value to release approximately US$4 million for immediate use in compensating the former LIAT workers.
Roosevelt Skerrit has also given his support to the latest proposal, and Prime Minister Browne is optimistic that Dr. Ralph Gonzavles of St Vincent and the Grenadines will also agree to the suggestion.
The issue of severance for the former LIAT 1974 Ltd workers has been a longstanding concern and has been strongly advocated for by the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union.
However, after the introduction of this new proposal, there has not been much public communication from the General Secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union, Senator David Massiah.
In response to the silence of the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union, the prime minister has emphasized that it is essential for the union to actively support the severance of LIAT 1974 Ltd employees by collaborating with other regional unions to rally the shareholding governments to accept the proposal.
In recent developments, the Caribbean Development Bank has conveyed to Antigua and Barbuda that the shareholders of LIAT 1974 LTD are responsible for deciding how the proceeds from the sale of the aircraft will be utilized.
Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Gaston Browne wrote to the Chairman of the CDB, Isaac Solomon, detailing that Antigua and Barbuda had taken steps to purchase the aircraft of LIAT 1974 Ltd for a total of US$12.1 million. These funds were intended to reduce the outstanding balances on LIAT 1974 Ltd’s re-fleeting loan, initially provided by the Caribbean Development Bank.
Prime Minister Browne emphasized that the additional lien on the planes has obstructed the use of the US$12.1 million to partially settle the severance payments for the former staff of LIAT 1974 Ltd.
In response, the CDB communicated through the media that following LIAT’s liquidation, the company’s shareholders, including the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, agreed to sell LIAT’s three aircraft to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.
Under the agreed sale arrangement, the shareholder governments approved that the sale proceeds should be proportionately allocated to paying the outstanding balances on CDB loans initially made to support LIAT (1974) Limited’s operations.
The CDB emphasized that the decision regarding the use of the sale proceeds rests with the shareholder governments and clarified that they are not involved in the financing or any aspect of the operations of LIAT 2020.
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