An injunction blocking the dissolution of BWIA West Indies Airways Ltd will not affect the company’s transition tomorrow to Caribbean Airlines.
By Kayode JamesBWIA communications officer Dionne Ligoure confirmed the transition will move forward as planned despite yesterday afternoon’s extension of the injunction at the Industrial Court.
Ligoure said, “It’s not going to affect the seamless transition to Caribbean Airlines in any way.”
The injunction was filed against BWIA by the company’s acting area manager for Jamaica, Irenia Patterson, for loss of salary over the last seven years. Patterson claimed she was denied the full salary entitlement of the position in which she was acting since 1999, and said the company ought to have confirmed her in the position.
Instead, she said, she was kept at a lower salary scale while carrying out managerial duties, and denied an appropriate voluntary separation package.
Patterson was represented by lawyer Martin George and the Aviation Communication and Allied Workers’ Union (Acawu). The injunction restrained the company from disposing, removing or causing or permitting to be removed any of its assets or stock to the value of $3,706,901.10, which represents the value of Patterson’s claim.
George said BWIA was mandated to preserve monies to cover that sum until her matter was determined.
“The court felt it was the more prudent course of action to grant the injunction and preserve the assets of the company in the event that the workers’ claim is satisfied to the determination of the court,” said George.
George expected the matter to be put before the court near the end of January.
Meanwhile, Acawu president Curtis John lauded the injunction as a landmark victory for the union. He revealed plans to pursue other industrial matters against BWIA if Patterson’s suit was successful.
“I consider this to be a victory. We’ve been having raw deals with the company from the very beginning of negotiations,” said John.
“The outcome of this matter will then determine the fate of other matters we have at bilateral levels or other matters that we will now send to the Ministry of Labour.”
