Antigua Breaking News

Top Trusted News Source in Antigua

Search
Previous slide
Next slide

Union wants LIAT administrator to give update on airline

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

(CMC) — The Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union, ABWU, wants the court-appointed administrator for the bankrupt regional airline, LIAT (1974) Limited, Cleveland Seaforth, to provide the public with an update on the future direction of the company.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES.

ABWU General Secretary David Massiah made the call amid on going efforts to secure severance payments for the employees of the airline that entered into administration in July 2020 following increased debt and the impact of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

The airline is owned by the governments of Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St Vincent & the Grenadines, and while the Barbados and St Lucia governments have made available funds to cover the three-year outstanding debt to the workers in their countries, that has not been the case with employees in the other islands.

Massiah, speaking on Observer Radio in Antigua said “it is troubling to us in the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union that we continue to call on the Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda (Gaston Browne) to ensure that Seaforth, the LIAT administrator, at least declare to the public on the yielding of his administration over the last three years.”

“The administrator, at least declare to the general public on the yielding of his administration that has gone over three years (and) … that was supposed to take 120 days. And so we denounce this sort of silence or dismissal by the government and the administrator that to date we have not been in a position to receive some sort of understanding as to how things can be moving forward,” the union leader said.

Be part of the conversation.

Let us know what you think by adding a comment below. Click here to start now!

Massiah said he was calling on Seaforth “to clearly disclose to us what are the what are the situations, where we are, so people have an understanding, because the people of LIAT that have been working are entitled to their rights, their severance are protected by international convention”.

Regional trade unions say their members are owed millions of dollars in severance pay and other benefits.

Antigua & Barbuda has since established LIAT 2020, which operates a limited number of flights across the region.

Earlier this month, St Vincent & the Grenadines Prime Minster Ralph Gonsalves said he was awaiting information from Caribbean Development Bank, CDB, “for a new LIAT” to be formed.

Gonsalves said he suggested to the CDB a few weeks ago that their estimate for starting the new airline was “a little on the lower side, knowing what we went through when we did the re-fleeting of LIAT”.

In 2013, CDB provided loans totalling US$65 million to the four shareholder governments of LIAT to assist with the purchase of aircraft in the context of a fleet modernisation project.

Massiah told radio listeners that “from the union’s standpoint, it is interesting, and it must be known clearly that the Antigua and Barbuda Worker’s Union supports any resuscitation of a real, viable air travel transport in the Caribbean region and clearly this will only be achieved with the assistance and involvement of the workers as well.

“But the clear indication for us is that, while the governments and leaders might be advocating for LIAT 2020, the issue of the former workers is still a very important part that has to be discussed and finalised,” Massiah said.

Аdvеrtіѕе wіth thе most visited news site in Antigua and Barbuda ~ Wе оffеr fullу сuѕtоmіzаblе аnd flехіblе dіgіtаl mаrkеtіng расkаgеѕ. Yоur соntеnt іѕ dеlіvеrеd іnѕtаntlу tо thоuѕаndѕ оf uѕеrѕ іn Antigua аnd аbrоаd via our One Signal push notifications! Соntасt uѕ аt [email protected].

———————————————————————

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES.

Make a donation to help support ABN, via PayPal: [email protected]. Follow Antigua Breaking News on Twitter @ABNAntigua and Instgram @AntiguaBreakingNews and on Facebook. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-868-704-9864 or email us at [email protected].

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES:  CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

Join the Conversation!

Comments are closed.

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]