Wednesday, December 7, 2011 10:49 AM - St. George's, Grenada
St. George’s December 7th 2011: Grenada’s Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister, Peter David, wants LIAT and the union representing the airline’s workers to find a way to immediately resolve their ongoing impasse.
The minister’s statement was issued Tuesday as LIAT’s pilot staged a sick-out, in apparent response to LIAT’s announcement that it had terminated its “employment relationship’’ with Captain Michael Blackburn with immediate effect.
The airline gave no reasons why it had severed ties with Grenada-born Blackburn, who is also Chairman of the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association.
Pilots who were scheduled to work Tuesday morning called in sick, a move that affected thousands of travelers including Grenada’s Prime Minister Tillman Thomas. He was expected to travel to St. Lucia.
Minister David has called for a speedy resolution of the latest crisis, concerned that it could impact negatively on the economy of Grenada and other Caribbean countries.
David described LIAT as an important carrier for regional travel and also as a key connection to international flights.
He has appealed to the disputing parties to negotiate an amicable solution in the interest of saving regional economies, which are already taking a pounding from the global economic and financial crisis.
“The management of LIAT and the union must find a way to resolve this crisis because it not only impacts on LIAT but also on the economies of the entire Eastern Caribbean,” David told reporters.
