Govt commits to paying Airport Authority workers money owed

The government has made the commitment to pay Airport Authority employees money owed to them as part of their industrial agreement over a six-month period, beginning next month, a press statement from the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation (MOTA) revealed.

The statement added that the economic pitfalls caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are to blame for the payments not being made earlier.

The MOTA stated it is committed to honoring all of the terms of the industrial agreement.

“The current financial constraints we face as a result of COVID-19 and its impact on our economy did not make it possible to honor these payments and we ask for the continued patience of the Airport Authority and its employees, as we rebuild our economy stronger and continue to demonstrate our promise to protecting jobs,” the MOTA statement noted

“The Airport Authority generates its revenue from the air-traveling public by way of collection of security and related travel fees at the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) and our 28 family island airports. Despite a steep decline in revenue to only a fraction of what is required to honor our commitments, we have retained all of our 600-plus employees on full pay, notwithstanding the fact that the majority are working a significantly reduced work week. Specifically, all employees, with the exception of the Airport Screening and Security Departments, have been working approximately 20 hours weekly, with full pay and during the peak of the pandemic, most were not required to work at all, as the airports were closed or operating on extremely limited schedules.”

The statement reiterated that the government committed to keeping all public servants employed during the pandemic. It added that that commitment is bolstered by the fact that jobs have been preserved in the hard-hit aviation sector despite the fall-off in passenger traffic caused by the pandemic.

“We have strongly resisted furloughing employees and/or terminating anyone because of the pandemic, as we see the engagement of all of our employees as a part of the solution on our road to recovery and maintaining economic stability,” the statement noted.

“Our commitment to our employees is further demonstrated by our proven focus on protecting jobs for the long run and the Ministry of Tourism and the entire government of The Bahamas view our workforce as one of our most important priorities.

“We therefore ask for the patience of the Airport Authority team and the Bahamas Public Services Union, as they exercise their rights in protesting and/or making any other public statements.”

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/govt-commits-to-paying-airport-authority-workers-money-owed/