THE National Workers Union (NWU) told a parliamentary committee reviewing Air Jamaica’s fortunes yesterday, that it would not support a merger with any regional carrier.

“It is important to realise that merging the airline is not a panacea and would not solve the company’s immediate difficulties,” the NWU said in response to recent suggestions of a merger with other Caribbean airlines.

The union felt, instead, that it was “full time” that the issue of Air Jamaica’s relevance to the economy be settled, and the cost of not having it determined.

“The costs of the airline are in the public domain, what is not clear is what is the cost of of not having the airline,” the union told the committee.

The comments from the NWU, which represents approximately half of the airline’s employees, were contained in a document titled “NWU Proposals for the Revitalisation of Air Jamaica”, presented at yesterday’s meeting of the select committee at Gordon House, by its president, Vincent Morrison and vice-president Granville Valentine.

Morrison said that since its inception in 1969, Air Jamaica had played a vital role in the country’s economy, being responsible for most of the air traffic to the island, while the cargo division accounted for over 70 per cent the country’s air cargo.

He said that, since 1994, the airline had sustained losses of approximately US$1 billion, including losses totalling US$219 million since being returned to government’s hands two years ago. But, he suggested that these losses should be put in the context of higher oil prices, problems with maintenance schedules imposed by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), costs associated with disrupted schedules and the use of charters.

He commended the new management of the airline and expressed mixed views of the former private owners AJAG.

In praising the current management team, led by chairman, O K Melhado and CEO Michael Conway, he noted a reduction in losses through “prudent management”, and quoted Professor Rex Nettleford as arguing that losses attributed to Caribbean carriers seldom outweigh social and economic benefits.

The NWU president also said that AJAG should be hailed for achieving expansion into new routes, “an impressive on-time track record” and cementing “the image of a professional, competent airline”, against the post-9/11 period which had made international aviation environment difficult for private operators.

But he added that “after soaring to new heights under AJAG’s ownership”, the airline’s losses continued, creating an environment disadvantageous to the staff, including claims of union busting and stagnation of employee benefits.

He said that the NWU expected to to formulate a MOU which will outline the expectations of the parties and chart a course to a successful industrial relations climate which, he said, was essential to meeting the airline’s long-term objectives.

The union proposed: a bipartisan political approach to the future of the airline; credible private investors, with the employees being offered an ownership stake; full support for management-driven initiatives; rationalisation of routes; a fleet review; a participative management model; and an additional two members on the board of directors representing ground staff and pilots, respectively.

The Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), which represents the other half of the employees, including pilots and flight attendants, is to be invited to make its submission next Wednesday.