00:00Pilots represented by the Trinidad and Tobago Airline Pilots Association, Talpa, protesting
00:06at the finance ministry for a second time and sending a message that it will not stop
00:10if their grievance is left as is.
00:12Because we plan to be here again and continue to be in the public space because the matter
00:18is so serious to the airline, the region and the people of Trinidad that it must be resolved.
00:25Talpa trustee Captain Keith Dowdy further accusing the finance ministry of failing
00:30to engage the association against a backdrop of a November 4th deadline set by the Labor
00:36Ministry for negotiation talks.
00:39Working on 2015 salaries, the pilots have asked for a 4% increase.
00:44Although Cal is the entity with which the association negotiates, Dowdy suggests that
00:49a wage issue is not emanating there.
00:52They have told us that they are stuck and perplexed and it's here, we should come.
00:58They didn't tell us that in those direct words but basically they are waiting for a direction
01:02from here.
01:03Talpa takes a position that time is being wasted.
01:08We expect Caribbean Airlines to file that the talks have been fruitless and therefore
01:14go to the Ministry of Labor where they will probably attempt to have conciliation and
01:19at that point they will probably say they've got no response or directive and the matter
01:25will head to the court.
01:26The pilots have been using their off-duty time to protest as the association insists
01:30that it will be sticking to the legal framework in any action that is taken and it will be
01:36done in such a way not to jeopardize Cal's operations.
01:40Finance Minister Coleman Byrd has taken note of the protest action, reminding Talpa of
01:45a court injunction which prevents them from engaging in absenteeism and sick-outs, etc.
01:51According to him, the government is committed to fair and reasonable collective agreements.
01:55He states that while Cal is forecast to record an operational profit, his ministry has taken
02:00over Cal's debts and servicing agreements over the past nine years, which is a significant
02:06amount of the airline's expenses.
02:08Byrd also states that during the COVID period to present, billions of taxpayer dollars had
02:14to be pumped into Cal and two months ago, $122 million was spent for a spare engine
02:20for the MAX 8 fleet.
02:22The minister says, based on information from Cal, the salaries of pilots account for 33%
02:27of the airline's payroll cost, while pilots make up 13% of the workforce.
02:34And Byrd says, on a matter of transparency, the salary of a pilot starts at $22,818 per
02:40month, which is approximately $274,000 per year, and for a senior pilot, $94,760 per
02:49month or over $1.1 million per year.
02:53Further to that, he lists the monthly allowances in per diem at an average of $6,300, which
03:00is close to $43,000.
03:05These are packages which, according to the minister, Cal finds competitive.
03:10Byrd says he has also been informed that Talpa has asked for $55 million in severance
03:15and damages for contract pilots over the age of 60 who are reportedly unwilling to leave
03:20the airline against the contractual arrangements.
03:24The minister states that he will, quote, take appropriate action to provide further support
03:29to Caribbean Airlines so that this wage dispute can be settled within reason and once good
03:35sense prevails, end quote.
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