Goyal to meet Raj as MNS joins protests by Jet staff

“We want our jobs back,” the protesters shouted and were joined by a handful of activists from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which has taken up the cause of the laid off workers. MNS chief Raj Thackeray threatened on Wednesday that he would not allow Jet flights to operate in Maharashtra if the sacked employees were not reinstated.

A delegation of MNS leaders met the Jet management and even as that meeting was in progress, Jet Chairman Naresh Goyal spoke to Thackeray over the phone and the two decided to meet in a day or two to discuss the issue. “Party workers had gathered”there was no violence but the situation was tense. A meeting was being held with Jet officials with the single point agenda that the employees be taken back. While the meeting was on, Mr Goyal called Rajsaheb and they are expected to meet in a couple of days. Their decision will decide the next course of action,” said MNS spokesperson Nitin Sardesai, who attended the meeting.

But many among the laid off crew were not hopeful of getting their jobs back. “We’ve lost our jobs, that is for sure. If our issue is getting some publicity because of MNS, then why not,” said a cabin crew member who did not want to be named. That sentiment was echoed by senior Jet officials who said they would explain the situation the airline was in to the MNS chief, the Shiv Sena and any other political party and were confident that the crisis in the airline industry would be appreciated by them.

Separately, a senior Jet official was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that the airline was planning to return some of its leased aircraft as there was a fall in demand and expansion plans had been put on hold. He declined to discuss numbers saying an evaluation was currently on. Jet currently has 84 aircraft in its fleet while its low-cost subsidiary Jetlite (formerly Air Sahara) has 24. Industry analysts said that about half of Jet’s fleet is thought to be on lease but Jet officials could not be reached for confirmation. Jet is also expected cancel or postpone plans to buy new aircraft as it has put off plans to raise $400 million for two years.

While the Congress-led Central government has washed its hands off the issue saying it could do little about Jet sacking its employees, Congress politicians in Mumbai joined their MNS and Shiv Sena colleagues in demanding that the workers be reinstated. “Mumbai Congress President Kripashankar Singh has written to Naresh Goyal”that the termination process should be stopped immediately and the management should discuss with the employees and provide a compensation package to the employees on humanitarian grounds,” a statement from the Mumbai Congress said. Congress MP from Mumbai, Priya Dutt, also slammed Jet saying “in India, we cannot follow American style of corporate policies. I will do my best for the youth who are just starting their careers”. — (With inputs from Swatee Kher)