Air Jamaica Name Dropped and 75 Jamaican Pilots To Lose Jobs

Caribbean Airlines has closed a Kingston, Jamaica, subsidiary company which employed 75 pilots operating on the now defunct Air Jamaica.

The 75 pilots who were working under an interim contract with CARIBAL Ltd, the company that Caribbean Airlines used when it took over Air Jamaica in 2010, are to lose their jobs come next month.

Following a news conference at the Transport Ministry in Port of Spain, Transport Minister Devant Maharaj last week dismissed as “erroneous,” a report in the Jamaican press that the 75 Air Jamaica pilots would be dismissed.

Caribbean Airline has said it will offer new contracts to the pilots following the closure of Caribal Ltd, the subsidiary of CAL which was the employment company for the pilots in Jamaica.

Caribal was responsible for the recruitment processes of the airline in Jamaica.

In a statement from its Piarco head office late on Thursday, CAL said it informed the Jamaican Airline Pilots Association and the pilot body of its intention to offer contracts of employment with CAL.

“The employment of the pilots to CAL will see the company using a transparent process to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. All benefits remain unchanged,” CAL said.

CAL acting chief executive Robert Corbie has also stated that the pilots will be offered contracts under CAL, but it was too early to tell if all 75 would apply for the jobs.

Sources close to JayBlessed.com indicate that close to 60 pilots may be offered contracts, however, we can not confirm this claim.

Hard times!