Dear Editor,
Much is being said these days about LIAT (2020) and the gains over the year. There is even a rebranding of LIAT Air taking flight.
But while these conversations continue, one painful question remains unanswered: what about the former LIAT 1974 Ltd workers who were left behind without their severance?
Hundreds of loyal employees gave decades of service to LIAT, keeping the airline alive through its many storms. Yet, when the company collapsed, we were left with nothing.
The Antigua and Barbuda Government made an offer, but the Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union (ABWU) and its General Secretary, David Massiah, urged us to reject it with promises of a “better deal.”
To this day, no better deal has come. Instead, we remain broke, abandoned, and struggling to survive.
It is disheartening that they have not settled their obligations to the men and women who carried LIAT on their backs for decades. We deserve more than silence. We deserve answers.
Where is the Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union in this fight? Where is David Massiah, who encouraged us to turn down the government’s offer?
Why are former employees being treated as though our years of sacrifice are worthless?
As plans for LIAT Air move forward and talks of even flying to the US and UK, let us not forget that justice is still owed to the workers of LIAT 1974 Ltd.
We demand accountability, we demand answers, and above all, we demand fairness.
Sincerely,
A former LIAT 1974 Ltd Worker
Sir I can only imagine your pain and dissatisfaction with the Liat situation. However, unless your suggesting something untowards took place with the union, the union and its head was not to blame. He was at the time looking after your interest. Blame here lays squarly at the feet of Gaston Brown and his gutless band of labour politicians. If they were for the workers on Antigua, they would have ensured all entitled ex Liat workers were paid their severence. So shame on GB and the labour government.
This is very sad, because the LIAT workers stupidly allowed The Antigua Barbuda Workers’ Union to use their severance-money last election as a political pawn to advance the UPP agenda and gain David Massiah his UPP-appointed Senatorship to secure his lifetime pension. What UPP business does ABWU General Secretary Massiah have being the UPP’s Senate Leader?
If somebody owe you a $100, and tell you hold $60,…. Doesn’t it make sense to grab the $60 now, and fight for the rest after? LIAT workers got PLAYED big time like a pack of fools by the ABWU, Chester & Massiah – – and have ONLY themselves to blame. FACTS
Former LIAT Workers, get up n go fight for ur money. Staying behind a keyboard will get nothing done. Show those in authority that u guys r serous about ur ones that u havetpiled do hard for.
I am sorry but David Massiah did his best to get ur rewards but PM Browne keep pushing back simply because he does not want o pay u guys ur worth. #Foodforthought!!!
PM Browne and the current administration owe the disgruntled LIAT workers not one cent. Decent offers were put forward by tge said administration but, as expected, your pathetic ABWU chose weaponize the generous offers made. Your ABWU encouraged you to scoff at, ignore and refuse all generous offers made. Time is up. Time to move on! Let Massiah and the ABWU open their coffers and pay you from the funds you paid them for effective representation.
Are we going to hear the voices of the government and persons over the failed LIAT 1974 on this matter or are we going to hear the love of silence?
It’s heartbreaking to read this. People dedicated their lives to the airline and were left with nothing, this is plain wrong.
Will this letter really change anything, or just more words into the void?
As a young person looking on, I think it’s important to acknowledge both sides of this LIAT issue. On one hand, I can see why governments and shareholders are pushing to move forward with LIAT (2020) and even rebranding it as LIAT Air. Regional travel is critical for jobs, trade, and tourism, so we do need an airline that works.
But at the same time, I can’t ignore the former LIAT (1974) workers who are still waiting on severance. These people gave years, even decades, of service and were left behind when the company collapsed. It doesn’t feel fair to celebrate progress while that situation remains unresolved.
For my generation, this is also a lesson. We keep hearing about building a better future, but how we treat workers in times of crisis says a lot about the kind of society we are creating. I think both things can happen: we can support the new LIAT while also demanding that governments and unions find a real solution for those who sacrificed so much.
What does the new LIAT have to do with the workers if the former Liat? It’s two separate entities. The old LIAt is responsible for severance but they have been badly advised
Honestly, I can’t understand how LIAT (2020) and now “LIAT Air” can be moving forward while the people who gave their whole lives to the old airline are still left empty-handed. These workers kept LIAT running through all the ups and downs, and when the company collapsed, they were just tossed aside without their severance. That is not right.
You can rebrand and paint planes in new colors, but if the workers who built LIAT are not respected and compensated, then it feels like history is being rewritten without justice. The truth is, no airline can soar on the backs of unpaid workers. The former LIAT staff deserve their severance, and until that debt is settled, celebrating “new LIAT” feels hollow.
The Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union really has a lot to answer for in this whole LIAT situation. They were the ones who encouraged the workers to reject the government’s offer, promising that a better deal would come. But here we are, years later, and the workers are still without their severance, still struggling to survive.
A union’s job is to protect and fight for its members, not leave them worse off. Too many former LIAT employees now feel betrayed because the ABWU failed to deliver on its word. It’s time the union stops shifting blame and actually finds a way to make things right. The workers gave everything to LIAT they didn’t deserve to be left in the cold by the company and by the very union that was supposed to defend them
Listen to me and listen to me well. The new LIAT Air will always be blighted and wont be successful until the severance owed to the workers are paid. Remember I Ben Simmons say so.
@CKH, R U real. The Union is there to negotiate the best deal for their members n that is just what ABWU was doing for the former LIAT workers.
The workers have toiled for years n then come to hear take less tha. 50% of ur years service n go home n be grateful cuz they don’t have to give U anything. That’s sheer nonsense. That is why the Union was trying its best to get the full severance to these workers.
Why on Antigua blame is thrown at d wrong person n not where it is due. It was our government that blow up the Airline with so many workers n then don’t want to settled their severance in d right way. The other governments of the Caribbean gave their ppl their full money, y should it be different here for the workers.
Talk about that!!