Browne brands some ex-employees as ‘rotten elements’ and blames pull-out of Barbados and St. Vincent for collapse of LIAT
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has joined another LIAT shareholder government head in blaming the former airline workers for the collapse of the regional carrier.
Insulting workers and threatening that at least one pilot will never work at the company again, Browne told the Parliament it was the constant unreasonable demands by LIAT’s employees, over the years, that caused the airline to go under.
Speaking in the Lower House on Monday, July 11, the Prime Minister said the former workers are being difficult in expecting the Government to pay 100 percent of their severance entitlements.
He notes that not even the former Jolly Beach workers have the legal right to demand such a payment to cover their severance.
Distancing his administration from LIAT’s collapse, Browne says it was the pull-out of Barbados and St. Vincent & The Grenadines that resulted in the airline’s downfall.
Further, he says his administration has gone the extra mile to save and rebuild the regional carrier so that some of the severed workers could be re-employed.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister launched an attack on some workers during the debate, calling them “rotten elements” who have no place with the company.
About a week ago, the St. Vincent & The Grenadines Prime Minister, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, also blamed the former workers for the collapse of the airline. His comment was also met with backlash from several quarters, in particular the former employees.
