Union executives on Wednesday rejected a Bahamasair ultimatum that airline employees either accept a 12 per cent salary reduction and give up other benefits or face the prospect of 200 lay-offs.
And, if the 400 unionized members are forced to accept a cutback, Airport Airline and Allied Workers Union (AAAWU) President Nelerene Harding said, the entire airline board, managers and the Minister responsible for Bahamasair, Bradley Roberts, should do likewise.
Mr Roberts, the Minister of Works and Utilities, is also responsible for the Bahamas Electricity Corporation and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company.
“It should start from him and move down,” Ms Harding advocated in a telephone interview with The Guardian. “If we give them concessions and Bahamasair only flies to Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, our revenue will not grow. We will still have an old fleet of aircraft and maintenance costs will continue to climb.
“I cannot see us giving up anything if Bahamasair’s plan is for us to give up more than they are going to bring in. I cannot see the gain,” she said.
“Last July”, Ms Harding continued, “Bahamasair’s board of directors asked for a 12 percent pay cut from employees in addition to concessions that included withholding payments of the union’s pension plan for one year, as well as the coverage of union members’ dependants with the Colina insurance company.”
Outright rejection
Ms Harding said a 12 per cent pay cut would place employees in Category A1 or A2 of the union’s agreement, resulting in persons who have worked for Bahamasair for at least five years earning salaries of less than $135 to $140 a week after National Insurance deductions.
“It was not even a thought to agree to this. We outright rejected this proposal, but the Board told us if we did not accept this 12 per cent pay cut, they would have to lay off 200 persons,” she said. When union members were informed of the Board’s intention, they replied with an unequivocal “no”, she said.
“There was no way that we could even rationalize something of this nature. Everyone asked why should they work for an entity where they could not meet their obligations to pay rent, light and water,” she advised.
Charter deal expenses
According to Ms Harding, Bahamasair’s board asked for a 12 per cent across the board pay cut because they needed $6 million for the fiscal year, but the union questioned why the funds were needed.
“They told us they wanted to go into this Driftwood deal, but I asked them what would be our income if we went into this deal,” she said. Driftwood is a United States-based airline company that operates charter flights to Grand Bahama for the now closed Royal Oasis hotel.
According to Ms Harding, the Ministry of Tourism promised Bahamasair to pay for 60 per cent of the seats on every flight whether sold or not, while Bahamasair was allowed to sell 40 per cent of the seats. She said the union was told there would be 8 to 10 seats in the first class section of Bahamasair, which had to be sold at $700 or more to be able to make a profit on the flight. “However”, Ms Harding said, “profits would be less than $2,000 if the seats were sold.
“Why would any individual agree to concessions when they are not showing me that what I am giving up is not going to be what they would receive in profits?” she asked.
Ground handling changes
Ms Harding said the union was issued a letter in August from Mr Roberts, asking for members to take a prorated 2 to 5 per cent pay cut. The letter, she said, also made known that Bahamasair wanted to outsource its ground handling service in the Family Islands, while Bahamasair porters would join those at Nassau Flight Services.
Ms Harding said she did not have a problem with Mr Roberts’ request, but that the government should pay off the Bahamasair porters and have their salaries transferred to Nassau Flight Services. She has yet to receive a response, she said.
Airline industry cutbacks
In trying to persuade employees to accept salary reductions, Ms Harding said, Bahamasair bosses pointed out that employees of other carriers were willing to make concessions. She pointed out however, that the airlines were profitable before Sept. 1 and a time frame was given to their employees as to when they would get back these concessions.
But “Bahamasair’s board told us point-blank that whatever we give up, we would have to renegotiate” in order to get it back, she said.
Bahamasair is losing millions because of the “unsound” decisions made by its management, and no employee should have to suffer as a result, she protested.
Talk show
A special guest on The Bahamas Live talkshow with host Steve McKinney on Wednesday, Mr Roberts said that major carriers in the world were losing money and Bahamasair was no exception. He said Bahamasair has no money to upgrade its fleet, but the airline must satisfy its passengers.
He also pointed out that Delta Airlines’ pilots agreed to a substantial reduction in their salaries because they would like to see the airline stay afloat and keep their jobs.
He said also that although pilots who flew low cost carriers made less money than those of other airlines, this was not the case with Bahamasair pilots.
Mr Roberts further claimed that both the AAAWU and the pilots union were asked to make recommendations on what could be done to improve Bahamasair, but he has yet to receive any suggestions.
However, hours before a scheduled meeting with the AAAWU and the Pilots Union during which Bahamasair was expected to outline its financial position, Ms Harding announced that the union would not agree to any concessions similar to those requested last July.
NCTU support
President of the National Congress of Trade Unions (NCTU) Pat Bain, also supported the AAAWU during a press conference on Tuesday. Mr Bain said that the NCTU would stand behind the AAAWU, as workers have fought too long and too hard to maintain their status with Bahamasair.
“The feeling of the NCTU is, should there ever come a time for givebacks, givebacks should be given across the board, from the management, right on down to the small workers,” he said.
By TAMARA McKENZIE,Guardian Staff Reporter
