Abrahams: Paying severance to ex-LIAT workers the right thing to do

Minister of Home Affairs and Information Wilfred Abrahams has defended the Government’s decision to pay the severance of terminated Barbadian employees of Antigua-based LIAT (1974) Limited although they were employed in another country.

He said while the Mia Mottley-led administration had no legal obligation to pay severance to the former airline workers, it had done what was morally right by setting aside $10 million for the long-suffering workers.

During debate on Supplementary Estimates No. 6, 2022- 2023 in the House of Assembly on Tuesday, Abrahams said the Government was extending a helping hand to the 89 ex-LIAT workers in the same way it had assisted Barbadians who suffered as a result of the collapse of insurance company CLICO.

“In making the decision to cover the severance for the Barbadian employees, it is important for people to understand that we are covering the Bajans. A lot has been swirling recently since Barbados made the announcement and I think another country has indicated that they are going to look to deal with their people. But then some are saying that Barbados acted irresponsibly in settling the Barbadians when all the shareholders should have come together,” he said.

“No matter what the legal position is, we recognise that there are persons who in good faith worked for and serviced a Caribbean entity that nobody thought at the time was going to fail. At the end of the day, that entity provided services to Barbados, at the end of the day we had Bajans who went out there in good faith and who expected that at the end of their working life that they would have something to fall back on, or if they were terminated before that they would have the resources to do right by them,” Abrahams added.

As she wrapped up the Budget debate in Parliament earlier this month, Prime Minister Mottley announced that the affected Barbadians would be fully compensated.

“The Government of Barbados will pay up to $75 000 in cash to each and every person in terms of their calculated severance liability and . . . any number for severance over $75 000 will be paid in bonds,” she said at the time.

Abrahams said this was being done even though the Barbados Government was not responsible for paying the workers who lost their jobs when the airline collapsed in 2020.

“The statutory obligations in respect of their employment fell to be considered by the foreign entity. So when that entity failed, or severed or let go persons, their right recourse was towards the government to whom they paid taxes or the government that was responsible for taxing the entity, and that was not Barbados,” he said.

The Home Affairs Minister also reiterated that the former LIAT workers would only get the severance amounts due to them.

“I just want to clear that up. The Government has undertaken to pay the severance of up to $75 000. If your severance is $50 000, you will get the $50 000; if it is $64 000, you will get the $64 000; if it is $75 000, you will get $75 000; if it is $80 000, you will get $75 000 in cash and $5000 in bonds,” he said.