CAL pilots picket Finance Minister's office

CARIBBEAN Airlines (CAL) pilots say they are prepared for their ongoing wage-negotiations impasse with the company to reach the courts.

The pilots, members of the Trinidad and Tobago Airline Pilots Association (TTALPA), held another silent picket on October 30 at the Eric Williams Financial Complex on Independence Square in Port of Spain.

They expressed their disapproval of the lack of response from Finance Minister Colm Imbert to their hand-delivered letter on October 14.

The letter contained proposals for the 2015-2020 negotiation period, as the pilots are currently working under the terms and conditions of a collective labour agreement for 2010-2015.

On October 3, pilots marched through the Piarco International Airport with placards in hand.

TTALPA trustee Keith Dowdy said although the negotiating period ends in November, the pilots are picketing to show their commitment to getting a fair collective agreement and dialogue.

The pilots have offered to accept a four per cent increase, similar to what was offered to public servants.

He said with the deadline looming, nothing has been resolved and TTALPA has several concerns.

“The placards have not changed, the ask has not changed, but our concerns have heightened, because what we are realising now is that there's a strained relationship between the pilot body and (the Minister of Finance), and we do not understand that.

“CAL has already invested excessive amounts of money to expand, and in expansion you need the support of the pilots.

"We want to support the airline. We are patriots of the soil and we would like to see the matter resolved.”

He said without dialogue, the relationship between the airline and the pilots will be dysfunctional.

“You cannot base an expansion and an investment on a relationship that is dysfunctional and expect success.

"So if it fails, what is at fault, who is at fault? So that's why our concerns have been heightened.”

Dowdy said the pilots plan to continue to picket until they get a response, but added they are prepared for the matter to go to the Ministry of Labour for conciliation talks, and then to the courts if no agreement is reached.

“We expect CAL to file that the talks have been fruitless and therefore go to the Ministry of Labour, where they will probably attempt to have conciliation. At that point they will probably say they've got no response or directive, and the matter will head to the court.

“We plan to be here again and continue to be in the public space because the matter is so serious to the airline, the region, and the people of Trinidad that it must be resolved.”

He said emphatically the pilots have no plans for any illegal actions. The law prohibits the pilots from striking or protesting.

“The organisation will remain within the legal framework, because we have industrial consultants and senior counsel and we will not venture past any line that is considered even contentious.”

Dowdy warned, though, pilots are considering their future at the airline as competition in the region heats up.

He said their departures would result in CAL's losing an investment and TT losing valuable human resources.

“There are other players that are filling the void. An airline just started up in Grenada, and that should be our operation.

"We are allowing people to come in to the opportunity and take away some of the potential income. We have the opportunity and we are losing it.

“You will also lose pilots because they recognise there's no real future here at CAL.

"The quality of our pilots is known worldwide. The only reason they don't go to (elsewhere) is because they don't want to live outside of their home. But they're reconsidering that, and we know for sure that we have pilots that will be leaving and others that will be following.”

On October 6, TTALPA shared information with Newsday showing CAL pilots are among some of the lowest paid pilots in the region, only being paid more than pilots in the Bahamas.

Responding to the pilots’ claims, Imbert said CAL’s current financial condition must be considered.

In a media release he said while CAL “may be heading for an operational profit,” the ministry has taken over its debts and debt-servicing obligations over the last nine years and covers a significant portion of CAL’s annual expenses.

“In the last four years in particular, the ministry has provided the airline with billions of dollars in financial support in the aftermath of the covid pandemic. Further, the ministry continues to subsidise the airline to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year.”

Imbert said CAL had told him the pilots receive competitive salaries, allowances, and per-diem rates that “place them among the highest-earning professionals in the region.”

“CAL has advised that pilot salaries account for 33 per cent of the airline’s payroll costs, while the pilot body comprises 13 per cent of the total workforce.”

He provided a table outlining the starting salary of a CAL pilot ($22, 818 a month) and said senior pilots earn as much as $94,760 a month.

Pilots also receive average monthly allowances and per diems amounting to $42,714 a month.

Imbert said, “The competitive nature of this package can be linked to the low attrition rate for pilots, where, since 2022, there have been just 13 resignations and one early retirement from CAL.”

Imbert said notwithstanding this, he will provide further support to CAL to settle the wage dispute “within reason, and once good sense prevails.”