BWIA workers apply for VSEP Trinidad Guardian BWIA West Indies Airways began its voluntary severance programme, for which 141 workers were expected to apply, yesterday. Applications for VSEP were due in yesterday. A BWIA spokesperson said the airline was pleased with the response it got from workers. The evaluation of these applications is the next step in the exercise, said the representative. BWIA continues to keep the workers trade unions abreast of its decisions. Some 141 jobs have been made redundant. BWIA, however, did not disclose the value of the VSEP packages, unlike its Antigua-based joint venture partner Liat. Cash-strapped Liat announced that it has received a EC$31 million (US$11 million) loan to replace ageing planes, finance its voluntary severance program and boost marketing initiatives, the airline's chief executive said. The governments of Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines plus two private Antiguan companies acted as guarantors for the money sourced from CIBC West Indies Holdings in Barbados, chief executive officer Gary Cullen said Thursday. "It was very important that (the airline) receive the necessary investment so we can do the things that are necessary to ensure the future success of the company," said Cullen. The troubled airline plans to lay off more than a third of its employees-241 of the 700-strong work force. Cullen said he expects about 100 to accept a voluntary severance package from Liat. The Antigua-based airline is owned by several island governments. On Wednesday, Liat announced a new marketing campaign, new routes, and a limited-time reduction in fares in an effort to snag some of the market from its top competitor, Caribbean Star. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca yahoo email: mailto:triniroj@yahoo.com Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBSC Group on Yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribsocabrass CBSC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeansocabrassconnection/ ******************************************************* Steel Expressions Orch http://www.escape.ca/~ejames/se/ email #1: mailto:steelexpressions@yahoo.com email #2: mailto:steelexpressions@home.com ******************************************************* The Trinbago Site of the Week: (TCL) http://www.tclgroup.com/ (TCL Group of Companies) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://195.224.187.36/ *********************************************************