Jet Airways - Violations under IDA

New Delhi, Oct 16: With panic spreading across the industry after the retrenchment of 1900 staff by the Jet Airways as a cost cutting measure, the Chief Labour Commissioner on Thursday submitted report to the Labour Ministry regarding the lawfulness of the step taken by the company in shedding off its employees.

Speaking about the legality of the move, the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner of Maharashtra and Goa said that “altogether 700 of the 1,900 retrenched Jet Airways employees were on probation with less than one year of service record”.

However, the government is likely to look into the sacking of the remaining employees, Labour Secretary Sudha Pillai said.

"As per law, probationers below one year of service can be retrenched without serving any notice. So, there is no violation of law. We are looking into the matter of the remaining employees who were sacked. So far, the Labour Commissioner there have not received any complaint from anyone," Pillai said.

Provisions under the Industrial Disputes Act states that employees who have completed their probationary period can approach the Labour Commissioner's office to seek justice for undue removal from service.

"If we receive any complaints it will be dealt as per provisions under Section 25(O) of the Act. So far, there are none. Hence, we can do nothing about it but feel sad for them," Pillai added.

The Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner in a letter to the Government said “All retrenched staff, including the probationers -- 578 cabin crew and 120 ground staff -- have been a paid a month's salary apart from returning their security deposits.”

However, the Labour Ministry is yet to learn about the employment status of the remaining 1,200 sacked Jet Airways employees, though officials here said the issue is in the Civil Aviation Ministry's ambit.

"Cost of running an airline is high owing to high ATF prices. As far as the government is concerned, the issue is in jurisdiction of the Aviation Ministry and they will look further into it," a top ranking ministry official said.

Source : Zeenews Bureau

Jet reinstates all sacked employees

Jet reinstates all sacked employees

Less than 48 hours after Jet Airways announced the retrenchment of 1,900 employees, the airline has decided to reinstate all the employees.

Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal, in the late evening press conference on Thursday, requested all the sacked employees to come back to work from Friday.

"I apologise for the trauma which the sacked employees have gone through in last two days. The company is like my family and so are the employees. As the father of the family, I cannot see unhappy faces. My conscious does not allow me to see my employees worried."

Stating that he had not taken the decision under any political pressure, Naresh Goyal said that the management of the company took this decision of sacking the employees due to the financial woes that the entire industry is going through. Now it is my decision alone to take back all the employees.

"Nobody, including my wife, is involved. All the employees are my family, I cannot see tears in their eyes. I have nothing to do with Kingfisher; the decision is not relate to the alliance we have."

"The management," he said, "will have to understand the issue as it is about the welfare of the employees who have been hired by the company. The management may not like my decision but I have made it. We cannot bring economics, mathematics, figures and money in this issue," he added.

Goyal said he took the decision from his heart as he "could not sleep for last two days. For me economics cannot be the only important factor and I will go ahead with my conscience."

Distancing himself from the decision that provoke sharp protest from the employees and some political parties Goyal said, "The management has decided it and when I read about it I saw tears in the eyes of their eyes, I decided on my own to call them back."

"There is no internal or external pressure. As a family we will decide how to fly and keep the airline offload," reiterated.

Asked about Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief Raj Thakre threat that he would not allow Jet to fly from Mumbai, Goyal said: "I have not talked to anybody. It does not matter what anybody says. I have not even asked my wife," an emotionally choked Goyal said.

Jet-govt deal for bailout?

However, industry sources fell that Goyal has taken the decision of reinstating the sacked employees after speaking with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel.

The sources claimed that private airlines, including Jet and Kingfisher, had already struck a deal with the government to get a Rs 4,700-core (Rs 47 billion) bailout package to help them stay afloat.

Sources said that the government (read Praful Patel) had linked the bailout package to the reinstatement of sacked employees, which was why Jet Airways had decided to reinstate its sacked employees.

Many Questions remain unanswered :

Does HR team exist ?
Does it talk to MD on lay off
Did MD approve lay off ?
Is HR involved in revoking lay offs ?
Who ordered re-instatement ?
What are the terms of employment ?
Will they lay off at a later time quietly ?

Source : rediff.com