Workers get 3-month deal

Tobago Express employees, it said, will receive statutory severance packages and offered new and enhanced three-month transition contracts with Caribbean Airlines.

Aviation Communications and Allied Workers Union (ACAWU) president general, Curtis John, accused Caribbean Airlines of being insensitive to the human side of its merger with Tobago Express and uncaring about its impact on the lives of the staff and that of their families.

John yesterday scoffed at Caribbean Airlines’ announcement that Tobago Express staff will be offered “new and enhanced three-month transition contracts” and opportunities to join Caribbean Airlines permanent ranks, noting that this was the same offer made to BWIA staff who were eventually dismissed.

The release also stated that, during the three-month period, Caribbean Airlines will work with employees and customers to design the optimum airbridge service.

However, John accused Caribbean Airlines of wanting to use the employees to set up shop before sending them home.

“This could never be a good and just offer. There will be no proper job specs for the Tobago Express staff to work with and, like the former BWIA employees, Caribbean Airlines will work them like donkeys without paying them any benefits and after they have established a proper system, they will be gone. Their positions will be contracted out,” John said. He suspected that the majority of persons who will be re-employed will be reservations staff and not traffic staff, whose positions are ear-marked to be filled by Servis Air, he said. He noted as well that those Tobago Express employees with less than one year service, will not be entitled to severance benefits which should be approximately 30 percent of what had been earned during their terms of employment.

“This is a merger, the company did not die a natural death and all the workers should be entitled to severance packages,” John said. He assured that ACAWU was ready to step in and defend its members if Tobago Express failed to treat them fairly.

Efforts to contact Tobago Express and Caribbean Airlines management were unsuccessful.