Airline officials confirmed Monday that the money was expended between Sunday and Monday for wet leasing and other passenger accommodations. This was as a result of failed talks between Bahamasair executives and the Airport Airline and Allied Workers Union (AAAWU), regarding the non-payment of salary increases which were to come into effect July.
“I’ve seen some people in the administration building but we’re still not flying, so I don’t think that the flight attendants and some of the ground staff are here,” Managing Director Paul Major told the Bahama Journal Tuesday morning. “There are not enough persons here for us to commence service.”
Mr. Major said that if the situation is not remedied by Thursday, the airline may have to enter additional wet lease agreements because the present arrangements will come to an end by then.
Over 100 workers, including flight attendants and ticket counter agents failed to show up for work on Sunday, leaving hundreds of passengers inconvenienced. Bahamasair Chairman Basil Sands confirmed that there were some passengers who were stranded in Orlando and Miami on Sunday, but were accommodated on Monday.
“The action by the union seems to have been timed to coincide with our peak demand going into the Thanksgiving and Christmas season…it is abundantly clear that this was no sick out, but a pre-meditated, illegal industrial action,” said Mr. Sands, who was speaking at a press conference at Radisson Cable Beach Resort yesterday evening.
“This industrial action has caused the airline so far more than $100,000 in incremental expenses for wet leasing and other passenger accommodations,” he said. “Additionally, the airline would have suffered losses of more than $200,000 by endorsing our coupons over to the charter operators and other foreign carriers.”
He said Southern Air, Sky Unlimited, Cat Island Air, Caribbean Air, Western Air, Falcon Air and Sun Coast Airline have agreed to fly as many rotations for as long as they are needed.
The union filed a dispute with the Department of Labour October 28.But Mr. Sands said salary increases for the workers are not feasible at this time.
In fact, the airline’s board has been asking workers to swallow a pay cut, a suggestion union officials said was not palatable.
The airline’s Deputy Chairman Mark Finlayson said during the press conference that this is not the first time the airline has not been able to pay increases.
“Last Christmas they came to us in reference to Christmas bonuses and we told them that we could only pay part of it and fulfilled the obligation later in the year which was received and there was no problem,” Mr. Finlayson said. “We’ve dealt in good faith…so we figured in this particular circumstance they would respond in the same way, especially when you’re losing the kind of money we’ve lost in the past few years. This is not some rich man’s money. This is the Bahamian public’s money.”
Mr. Sands added that the industrial action has clearly demonstrated that air travel in the Bahamas can be sustained without Bahamasair.
“The airline unions should be aware that Bahamasair unlike some of the other public corporations is not profitable, is not a monopoly, is heavily subsidized by the government and that there are other viable alternatives to provide airlift,” Mr. Sands aid.
According to management, the industrial action was unwarranted, particularly as the salary increases are under active consideration by the board and the Minister responsible for Bahamasair, Bradley Roberts.
Refuting allegations that there was a planned sickout, Secretary General of the National Congress of Trade Unions Robert Farquharson said he had expected operations to return to normal today.
“As far as I am aware the members of the union were sick,” Mr. Farquharson said. “There was no planned industrial action. I assumed the members of the union -if they feel better – will return to work in full force. I expect that some of them who may still be sick, who may still be feeling the effects of the flu bug may have to attend a physician because the industrial agreement states that after two days you have to produce a medical certificate, but I feel that the majority of employees who were sick may be feeling much better now and may be in a position to return to work today.”
Bahamasair executives say they refuse to return to the negotiating table until operations at the airline resume.
By Hadassah Hall, The Bahama Journal
