Bavita Gopaulchan
Senior Producer CNC3
bavita.gopaulchan@guardian.co.tt
After several months of a strained relationship, the executive of Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) and its pilots are hoping to turn a new leaf.
CAL’s Chief Executive Officer Garvin Medera and the pilots represented by the Trinidad and Tobago Pilots Association (TTALPA) met on Friday. The meeting followed a survey commissioned by TTALPA for its members. It showed that out of 137 pilots, 96.4 per cent were not happy with the management and culture enforced by Medera and Human Resource Vice President Roger Berkeley.
The survey also asked members whether it supported the resignations of the executives to which 95.6 per cent of the pilots agreed while 75.9 per cent expressed willingness to sign their names to a petition for the resignations.
Guardian Media understands that Medera had engaged TTALPA Chairman Captain Craig Rahamut on the issue and an official meeting was convened yesterday.
Among the four issues addressed during the two-hour-long meeting were: toxicity in the organisation’s culture, ongoing negotiations for the period 2015 to 2020, restoration of a healthy partnership between CAL and TTALPA, and a commitment by the CEO to move the relationship forward and to address the issues raised.
A TTALPA source said, “Mr Medera has exercised leadership and a positive sign by engaging with the union to try to fix whatever issues there are in the relationship.”
The negotiation deadlock between CAL and TTALPA surfaced last month after 54 pilots called in sick causing over 50 flights to be cancelled on August 20, 2023. The matter is before the Industrial Court and comes up for hearing at the end of the month.
In a communique to its 200 members yesterday, TTALPA stated that “both parties agreed to undertake the necessary steps to foster a mutually beneficial culture that would serve to ensure the health, safety, and best interests of the public.”
The union was also given the assurance that the CEO’s door would remain open to the council and the pilots.
The five-year period negotiation is currently before a Cabinet sub-committee. Guardian Media understands that CAL is in the process of compiling data to forward to the committee to move the negotiation along.