The board of directors of Caribbean Airlines is sticking to its guns and will not rescind its decision to terminate Captain Ian Brunton as chief executive officer. So said CAL attorneys, KR Lalla and Company and British QC Andrew Mitchell, in response to Brunton's demands that he be reinstated. In a November 1 letter to the fired CEO's attorneys, they described as "unjustified and wrong" claims that Brunton, 64, was terminated as a result of a unilateral decision of chairman of the board, George Nicholas III. They also denied that he was fired "because of any perceived or actual retaliation from a disagreement with the line minister over the purchase of a new fleet of aircraft." In fact, they chided Brunton for making "wild allegations" about the board, based on "unsubstantiated reports." According to the attorneys, the entire CAL board unanimously decided that the interests of the airline would be better served by a new CEO "with different skill sets to those of Captain Brunton."
The letter continued: "It follows that there is no decision of the board that should be recanted and in any event it is clear that in the light of the allegations made by Captain Brunton...as to the approach and reasoning of the chairman and the board in the termination of Captain Brunton's contract, that there is every basis for understanding the decision of the board." The CAL directors are contending that, following a conversation with the corporate secretary last Friday, Brunton was fully aware that the decision to terminate him was made by the entire board of directors. They said Brunton was terminated in accordance with his contract of employment which requires "no finding of misconduct or failing of any sort on the part of the employee." In fact, the employment contract contains a clause which permits either party to terminate the contract for two years' service, with notice, or pay in lieu of notice, for a term or sum that amounts to a quarter of the contract period.
Brunton, who had been CEO of CAL for just over a year, had claimed that the decision to fire him had been unilateral and that it was "with astonishment and disappointment" that he received a letter from CAL chairman George Nicholas III last Friday purporting to dismiss him. His attorney, Seenath Jairam, SC, had expressed the view that Captain Brunton was "an unwitting casualty" of a disagreement between Nicholas and the line minister, Jack Warner, over the pending aircraft acquisition from ATR with Nicholas having a preference for a competing supplier, Bombardier. In a statement announcing Brunton's termination last Friday, CAL's board expressed full support for Robert Corbie, the airline's vice-president, commercial and customer experience, who has been appointed interim CEO. They said Corbie will be overseeing a newly merged workforce of 1,866 employees and has been mandated to have the airline function as one company responsible for two brands-Caribbean Airlines and Air Jamaica.