'Take your money and go' By NADINE HOSEIN Take your money and go, said Christopher Abraham, president of the Aviation Communication and Allied Workers Union (ACAWU), yesterday, in response to BWIA's chairman Lawrence Duprey's threat to withdraw his shares from the airline. "Duprey can feel free to take his money and go elsewhere. He is not doing anyone any favours. This is not the first time he has threatened to leave. In 1998, on Emancipation Day, he threatened the same thing and the response from the workers was the same: "leave," said Abraham. Duprey issued a statement on Tuesday threatening to pull out of the airline if employees refuse to support the restructuring plan. Abraham also said the workers of the airline have a self-managed pension plan in excess of $100 million trusted in Clico. "With our pensions, we are of more value to him than he is to us," said Abraham. "If the company is serious about cost and management, then Duprey and the management have failed miserably. Yes, there was 9/11 but the government owns 49 per cent stake in the company, but the airline is reducing staff on the pretext of bad business." Abraham also said the airline is allowing its competition lucrative access to the market. "BWIA has given up the entire airbridge to Tobago Express, and this has created a vacuum for Caribbean Star and Liat to come in," said Abraham. He also said the airline's CEO, Conrad Aleong, signed a $23 million contract with Technical Services, a Montreal-based maintenance company, for the maintenance of the Airbus for the next five years. This was in response to Duprey's comments on the inefficiencies and in-house capabilities of the airline. Abraham said the workers took offence in Duprey's public statement. "We cannot understand why he choose to communicate with the staff publicly. The workers would have preferred some kind of dialogue rather than a public announcement. Duprey has come to his own conclusions without all the facts," said Abraham. 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: (ReadyMix) http://www.readymix.co.tt/ (ReadyMix Cement Ltd) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************