CATTU counter-proposals to BWIA

This was revealed Wednesday by Raymond Small, general secretary of the union at a press conference at the Aero Services Credit Union Building in Tacarigua.

CATTU is also protesting the airline’s intended retrenchment of 800 workers and plans to extract concessions from the workers including their pension and union rights and other conditions of employment.

Small stated the union has been negotiating with the management of BWIA and the government and has agreed to most of the concessions asked for by the airline including the retrenchment of “backroom staff” or non-technical staff, adjustment of severance formula for new employees and changes in shift arrangements where appropriate.

However he said BWIA has been bargaining in “bad faith” as it would not provide CATTU, TALPA, ACAWU and the Superintendents’ Association, the four unions representing the airline workers with details of its new business plan and was “constantly changing and shifting their positions” leaving CATTU uncertain about its position.

CATTU and the other unions have also agreed that the current BWIA pension plan cannot be interfered with and they refuse to give up their rights as representatives of their members all of which is mentioned in the counter-proposals.

The union called on BWIA to negotiate in good faith stating the future of the negotiations depends on the behavior of the Board and government and their instructions to the management.

Small also stated the intention for unions representing the airline workers to get back together in an effort “to try to put forward a united front because clearly their intentions (BWIA) do not appear to be in the best interest of the workers.”