National

Labour Department Tracks Silver Pay Dispute

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The sudden shutdown of Silver Airways’ Caribbean operations has left over a dozen Bahamian employees jobless and unpaid, as the Department of Labour pushes for answers and hopes for compensation through bankruptcy proceedings.

Published

1 year ago

June 22, 2025

Delvardo Emmanuel

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Just before midnight on June 11th, U.S.-based Silver Airways posted a brief statement on social media announcing the immediate shutdown of all Caribbean operations.

Days later, more than a dozen Bahamian employees were left without jobs or answers.

Director of Labour, Howard Thompson, who oversees employment matters nationwide, says his team is actively working to get those answers.

Howard Thompson – Director of Labour
“I’ve taken steps to try to contact Ms. Oli, um, to no avail. Um, she has not returned my calls or my messages, but I’m gonna continue to try to get an update, at the very least for the, um, former employees at Silver is just to find out what’s happening.”

Thompson confirms that more than a dozen employees in Exuma and Eleuthera have been impacted. Many of them say they have yet to receive their final salaries, redundancy pay, or National Insurance contributions.

Howard Thompson – Director of Labour
“A trade dispute was filed, I think in early May, and they would’ve had a conciliation with, with Silver’s, um, HR as well as those, um, persons affected. Some things were discussed and I understand that they came up with a figure that’s due and outstanding to those persons, their redundancy payment, and I understand that particular, um, figure was forwarded on to the Fort Lauderdale office to their HR person, Ms. Maria Labriola.”

Thompson also notes that under bankruptcy law, employees are supposed to be prioritized for payment once the company begins selling off its assets.

Howard Thompson – Director of Labour
“I am reliably advised that, um, employees of a company rank as a priority creditor. So if they are going through a bankruptcy, I’m advised that once the assets and these sort of things are being sold and funds are recouped, um, the employees usually get, um, their, their, their payment first. Um, so I’m hopeful for that.”

So far, there is no clear timeline on when, or if, these payments will come through. However, Thompson says the Department of Labour will continue to press for answers while also assisting affected workers in finding new opportunities.