Pilots tap Talpa's hand in negotiations By NADINE HOSEIN Trinidad Guardian BWIA pilots belonging to T&T Airline Pilots Association (Talpa) are planning to ask the executive to step down. A source said the pilots are unhappy with the current state of the negotiations with BWIA on their collective agreement. The pilots are asking for the present executive, chaired by Captain Edward Goddard, to set up a new committee to separately deal with the negotiations or voluntarily step down and allow the election of a new executive committee, the source said yesterday. While the executive agreed to meet with pilots at 9 am to discuss the ongoing negotiations with the airline, the source said it would have to face those options since pilots are dissatisfied with the talks. But Talpa executives believe talks are progressing positively. Captain Simon Kelshall, a Talpa executive, said January 28 is the likely departure date for 40 of the 214 pilots employed by BWIA. Last in-first out will be the process by which the pilots will be retrenched, he added. Kelshall was responding yesterday to the airline's plans to let go the pilots operating the Dash-8 aircraft. BWIA's chief executive officer, Conrad Aleong made that statement on Wednesday. "We have four or five contract pilots operating the TriStar. And contract pilots have to be laid off before permanent pilots. The company has asked for a concession from the pilots to let all but five go on December 2, the date the three-month notice will come to an end," said Kelshall. While all pilots have been given retrenchment notices, none of the 40 pilots have been identified, he said. "The company and the union are still in talks. Issues like leave of absence, early retirement need to be considered. Nothing is cast in stone. The matter is still subject to negotiations," said Kelshall. He said the pilots will be meeting with the BWIA human resource department to discuss the conditions under which the retrenchment will take place. They are currently awaiting a definite figure from the department, he said. The issues surrounding the collective agreement for the pilots are still underway in the industrial court and will be going on for a few more weeks, Kelshall added. Clint Williams, BWIA corporate communications director, said the plan was to let go 24 pilots and retain 16 for the next three months. He stressed that airline had no plans to impose involuntary cuts on its staff. He said Aleong announced this to the workers along with the news that the management will be taking a five per cent cut. Aleong said he would be taking a seven per cent cut in his salary to show leadership and a willingness to find a solution The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (Trini Tuner http://www.trinituner.com/ (TriniTuner.com) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************