ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Dec. 03, 2014, CNS – LIAT pilots have called off their planned industrial action, for now, after an agreement was reportedly reached to reinstate two pilots who were fired by the company recently.
“Yesterday morning under the auspices of the Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda…they agreed with LIALPA that the pilots should be reinstated,” Chairman of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association, Patterson Thompson said on local radio.
“For various reasons, I would prefer if the Attorney General gets into the technical matters of law. I think he will address the public at some time as to why they came to their opinion.”
Earlier this week LIAT said it terminated the two pilots charged with blatantly disregarding instructions from the company’s Flight Operations Department and flying an aircraft to VC Bird International Airport in Antigua just hours before the recent passage of tropical storm Gonzalo.
“This decision to terminate followed a full internal investigation of the incident during which the pilots were represented,” the company said in a release.
Thompson said he “managed to put the soldiers back in the barracks but I still think the weapons are ready. There must be a concerted effort on both sides so everybody wins.
“The first priority for this association and for me as president is to ensure that we did everything possible to get back those two jobs. Everything is secondary for a man or woman to be out of a job and have a family to support in these generally hard times. It is extremely difficult,” he added.
The LIALPA Chairman said another meeting has been set for Thursday Dec. 11 as the parties try to find an amicable solution to the other problems.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Dec. 03, 2014, CNS – LIAT pilots have called off their planned industrial action, for now, after an agreement was reportedly reached to reinstate two pilots who were fired by the company recently.
“Yesterday morning under the auspices of the Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda…they agreed with LIALPA that the pilots should be reinstated,” Chairman of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association, Patterson Thompson said on local radio.
“For various reasons, I would prefer if the Attorney General gets into the technical matters of law. I think he will address the public at some time as to why they came to their opinion.”
Earlier this week LIAT said it terminated the two pilots charged with blatantly disregarding instructions from the company’s Flight Operations Department and flying an aircraft to VC Bird International Airport in Antigua just hours before the recent passage of tropical storm Gonzalo.
“This decision to terminate followed a full internal investigation of the incident during which the pilots were represented,” the company said in a release.
Thompson said he “managed to put the soldiers back in the barracks but I still think the weapons are ready. There must be a concerted effort on both sides so everybody wins.
“The first priority for this association and for me as president is to ensure that we did everything possible to get back those two jobs. Everything is secondary for a man or woman to be out of a job and have a family to support in these generally hard times. It is extremely difficult,” he added.
The LIALPA Chairman said another meeting has been set for Thursday Dec. 11 as the parties try to find an amicable solution to the other problems.
