The BVI Airport Authority, the sole entity responsible for three airports in the BVI namely; Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport on Tortola, Taddy Bay Airport on Virgin Gorda, Augusta George Airport on Anegada, as well as multiple landing sites for helicopters in the BVI, in a formal letter received by our newsroom dated June 30th, informed employees of the BVIAA that effective June 1st, they would be receiving a 25% salary reduction.
The letter stated: “All employees are asked to note that in accordance with a resolution 26 of 2020 issued by the Board of Directors on June 3rd, 2020, effective July 1st, 2020 employees will be scheduled to work thirty hours per week instead of forty. Salaries will be paid according to the new 30-hour work weeks.”
The announcement of a salary reduction comes on the heels of a curfew extension and the declaration of the reopening of local borders, with no indication of how long the salary reduction would last. In addition, the management of the BVIAA has opted not to extend the operational hours of the organization.
Notwithstanding the clear enigma and despair brought on by Covid-19 and its effects on the socioeconomic factors, stakeholders continue to question the reasoning behind a salary reduction for employees in one of, if not, the most crucial areas. At present, the airport staff includes administration, custodial workers, security personnel, air traffic controllers, fire officers and others, many of whom are considered essential workers and have served in these disciplines for a number of years.
With only two weeks’ notice given to employees regarding the decision, many were left confused as to the way forward and future of their employment with the BVIAA.
The BVIAA is a vital organization to the Territory of the Virgin Islands. There are various rules and regulations that dictate the operations to ensure safety and efficiency for all concerned. These include, training, certification and continuous assessment. With this in mind, employees of the BVIAA are gravely concerned that they are not being treated fairly.
BVIAA is the second statutory body known to have implemented various salary cutting measures, the other being The National Parks Trust.
More to come on this story, as investigations by our agency into salary reductions and the possibility of any additional salary cuts among Government entities or statutory bodies continue. To date no announcement has been made by the Minister of Finance on the matter.