PART SIX
The delisting of BWIA shares from the TT Stock Exchange created quite a stir, especially among the private shareholders whose shareholdings were diluted to only 2.82 per cent of BWIA’s issued shares. This resulted in the minority shareholders losing directorships on the BWIA board.
Years later, the matter ended up in the courts but was never resolved to the satisfaction of the minority shareholders.
The Lok Jack board continued pursuing its mandate to restructure BWIA into a regional air carrier airline that is "efficient, safe, reliable and customer-oriented" which would in due course be open to participation from regional governments and the private sector.
In 2006, the London route operated by the Airbus A340 was terminated as it had become unprofitable mainly due to competition from British Airways.
The BWIA slots at Heathrow Airport were sold to British Airways for £5 million which became heaped in controversy.
The slots were grandfathered to BWIA as a former British colony.
To give effect to the regional airline concept, it was decided to change the name of the airline from BWIA to Caribbean Airlines.
The Lok Jack task force determined that a key imperative to transform BWIA into a viable entity was work-rule concessions by the four recognised unions.
During the privatisation process, the Acker Group and Loeb Partners agreed to the continuation of existing collective agreements in the new BWIA.
The Trinidad Airline Pilots Association (TALPA) represented the pilots, the Airline Superintendents Association (ASU) represented the middle management, the Communication and General Workers Trade Union (CATTU) represented the supervisory staff and the Aviation Communication and Allied Workers Union (ACAWU) represented the general staff that included mechanics, technicians, clerical and other support staff.
The unions’ contracts evolved over fifty years and contained provisions that impeded management’s prerogatives such as "consult and agree" which required union agreement on certain operational matters. More so, the company wanted to renegotiate annual leave, sick leave and overtime terms.
[caption id="attachment_1152564" align="alignnone" width="645"] Airship hangar built at Carlsen Field during World War II. Photo courtesy US Navy. -[/caption]
A major issue was TALPA/BWIA collective agreement clause on pilots' flight and duty times (FDT).
Airline FDT schemes are regulations that set limits on how long a flight crew can work and fly in a given period, and how much rest they must have.
These schemes are designed to reduce pilot fatigue and improve aviation safety. They include limitations on duty period length, flight time within a duty period and minimum rest requirements.
The FDT limits contained in the TALPA/BWIA collective agreement were more restrictive than the FDT limits prescribed in the Civil Aviation Act.
Regulations causing increased costs for hotel accommodation, ground transportation and allowances.
BWIA commenced negotiations with all four unions for work-r
