The new council has been elected and we had our first meeting on the 17th of this month. This was mainly to discuss with members of the outgoing council the most recent and pressing issues, mainly our collective agreement and the CARIBAL salary issue.

On the 10th of this month TTALPA met with representatives from the Ministry of Labour and the company. Matters concerning the current “extreme” rostering practices, flight time limitations (FTL) and the submitting of a collective agreement were discussed. The council was given until the 26th of Nov. to submit a suggested solution to the rostering problem. This along with a draft of our collective agreement will be submitted before the said date. However we do expect an agreement to be reached regarding the rostering practices before the finalized collective agreement is submitted.

This draft frame-work for our collective agreement will touch on all topics regarding a working agreement but most topics will be detailed in a more comprehensive final document. The frame-work will be submitted by the end of this week, the main focus of which will be the avoidance of fatigue, using the CAP 371 (which is a document detailing flight time limitations that is internationally recognized and based on scientific research.) as the basis for a FTL scheme, agreeing upon set arrangements for bidding, promotions and salaries. It is intended to set up a general working philosophy and to get feedback from the company regarding various issues, before we submit the final collective agreement.

TTALPA and JALPA are working closely with one another during these transitional times to ensure that the safest and most profitable agreements are reached between the pilots and the company. As always your feedback, suggestions and constructive criticism would be welcomed as we strive to represent the pilot body.

We are about to finalize the framework of our proposal for a Collective Agreement (CA) which we will present to you through a series of meetings here at TTALPA and at other locations to be advised. Once this frame work is approved by the membership and agreed to by the Company (CAL) we will start a series of negotiating meetings with the company to finalize a CA for the future. We have included numerous vehicles to improve both your remuneration package and your deteriorating lifestyle. This process has taken some time and a lot of work by a few or our pilots who also fly the line.

As for developments at Air Jamaica (AJ), what can I tell you, the boys and gals are going through the same trauma and uncertainty that those of you who worked with the former airlines went through. As a consequence of our anticipated “merger” TTALPA and JALPA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which recognizes we needed to chart a new course of co-operation in the achievement of a common objective. This harmony will help us work together to preserve employment and improve the quality of the working conditions of pilots.