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Won't be able to re-employ all of you, new owners of Jet Airways tell staff

There were over 3,500 employees who had remained at Jet Airways after its grounding

jet airways protests arvind jain (File) Jet Airways employees, including pilots, air hostesses and ground staff, during a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi | Arvind Jain

The consortium of Kalrock Capital and businessman Murari Lal Jalan, the new owners of Jet Airways, has told the airline's employees that it will start meeting them to determine roles for them in the new organisation, but added it will not be able to re-employ all of them.

The All India Jet Airways Officers and Staff Association had recently written to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, seeking his intervention to resolve its issues. Payment of dues like provident fund and gratuity and assurance of employment to existing employees on the payroll are their demands.

There were over 3,500 employees who had remained at Jet Airways even after it was grounded two years ago. In June this year, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had approved the resolution plan submitted by the Kalrock-Jalan consortium for the airline. The hope among the staff members was they will be re-employed once the airline flies again.

However, the consortium has issued a statement to the ex-employees and ex-workmen of Jet Airways.

While the insolvency resolution process has been completed, and the consortium has embarked on the implementation process, there is still some ground left to cover before the airline starts commercial operations once again, the statement read.

“In the coming days, we intend engaging with many of you to ascertain the role you can play in years to come, in our effort to create history, when Jet Airways becomes airborne again. We cannot commit re-employment to each of you, but can surely say that this company belongs to you and right now, it is not in the interest of your airline to onboard everyone,” the consortium told the employees.

“It would be an honour to have everyone back in the company in coming years, there were many factors at play here,” the statement added.

“The decisions on selection would encompass receipt of regulatory approvals, type of aircraft we deploy, destinations to be served, number of slots we ultimately get, start date etc.,” the consortium made it clear.

In the NCLT, while employee claims worth Rs 1,265 crore were admitted, the consortium had earmarked only Rs 52 crore towards settling their claims.

The compensation offered by the consortium includes cash payments of Rs 11,000 to employees and Rs 22,800 to workmen. One IT equipment (phone or laptop or iPad) out of existing IT assets of Jet Airways 1.0 will also be given to workmen. The proposal also includes a 0.5 per cent equity stake in the airline for all the people who were employees and workmen of Jet Airways and Rs 10,000 credits for future tickets to each ex-employee of Jet Airways 1.0.

A welfare trust will be formed of all the employees, and the consortium will transfer 0.5 per cent stake in the airline to this trust, apart from 76 per cent stake in its ground handling subsidiary.

This proposal has to be accepted by at least 95 per cent of the workforce of Jet Airways 1.0, according to the consortium’s proposal.  

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