By early next month, payment of severance to all Barbadian ex-LIAT workers will be completed.
General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) Toni Moore said on Tuesday that all unresolved issues should be sorted by July 31 and outstanding payments will come shortly after.
Earlier this month, Barbados TODAY reported that the 89 former LIAT workers who were among hundreds from across the region terminated by the Antigua-based airline in 2020 had started collecting severance pay.
Moore told a press conference at the union’s headquarters that final payments were expected to be fulfilled during the first week of August.
“We are satisfied that the relevant ministries, that is the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Finance, are now at a level where they should be ready to wrap up that issue most definitely by the end of next week,” she said.
“It effectively means this week, all of those calculations and so on should be sorted so that workers can receive the differences that they are owed …. The monies should be paid during the first week of August or so.”
Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced in Parliament during her wrap-up of the Budget debate in April that the Government would pay $10 million in outstanding severance payments to the Barbadian workers. She assured them that they would be fully compensated.
Payments of up to $75 000 are being made in cash to each worker while any amount above that is being paid in bonds.