BWIA workers facing salary cuts

BWIA is asking workers to take salary cuts of between five and 20 percent, the airline announced yesterday.

Management met with union leaders yesterday. Meanwhile, union leaders have scheduled a media conference today to air their views. A salary review for all management and employees is a condition of Government’s $116 million bail out of the airline announced last week. The airline, though, cannot cut salaries without the workers’ consent. Williams said the airline is still hoping that employees will agree to the salary cuts. “We’re going to have to find a way to meet that. Without it we won’t qualify. How will have to be further discussed,” Communications Director Clint Williams said yesterday. “We told them there is still an opportunity for them to get negotiated contributions to meet at least part of the savings before we have to come to any other forms of savings.”

BWIA retrenched over 600 workers in the heavy maintenance, ramp and duty free sections in January. The remaining workers, including administration and cargo staff, have salaries starting from about $2,500. Late last year, the airline also asked workers for concessions in a bid to get a $10 million bail out from Government. At that point the employees said no to the concessions. Williams said while the airline wants workers to agree to the cuts, it has less time for negotiation than it did last year. “The door is still open but we don’t have three to four months as we did in the past,” Williams said. Last week Thursday, president of the Communication Transport Workers Union, Jagdeo Jagroop, said it would be unfair to ask the low end workers to agree to salary cuts. “Their salaries are already low and there has been no increase since 2001. I don’t see it as practical for general staff to get wage cuts,” he said.