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Journalism of Courage
Sacked Jet employees stage protest, say were promised job security only a week back
The spot outside the Chakala factory of a bottled water manufacturing company is a popular spot for agitations, but the crowds on Wednesday were not the usual suspects. Instead of angry political activists, one saw scores of well groomed men and women in uniforms: employees of Jet Airways, the country8217;s largest private airline, taking to the streets in protest against their termination.
8220;I don8217;t come from a super rich family. I come for an extremely middle-class family and my parents were very happy when I had announced that I had become an air hostess,8221; said Reshma Pathan, who had been with Jet for a year.
8220;I come from Ahmedabad and really take pains to pay high rents and repay my loans. What will I do now?8221; Pathan asked.
They were from all over the country 8212; Ahmedabad, Baroda, Bangalore, Kolkata. And what irked them the most was the way their jobs were terminated.
8220;Usually we receive a call six hours before our flights. So when I called the roster department when I did not receive any calls, I was told that I have been terminated as my services were not required anymore,8221; said Rekha Iyengar, who quit her job at Kingfisher in Bangalore to join Jet in Mumbai. 8220;I was about to sign my probation papers in just a day or two but now it8217;s all gone.8221;
Many crew members also claim that they were promised job security by none other the chairman Naresh Goyal only a week ago and now they8217;ve been given the pink slip. 8220;Only last week Naresh Goyal told us that our jobs were secure and three days later even had a meeting with senior crew members who repeated the same assurance8230; And yesterday, when I called my roster office, they told me that my job has been terminated,8221; said a crew member who did not wish to be named.
What also bothers them is the fact that they had chosen aviation as their career of choice while rejecting other jobs. 8220;I used to work at a call centre and quit that place to join Jet as a flight steward, but now am without a job,8221; said Mitesh Bhatt. 8220;Don8217;t you think those guys back at the call centre or at the travel company where my friend worked earlier will be laughing at us?8221;
Crew members also alleged that Jet did not even compensate them on fair grounds. 8220;All they did was to return our deposits of Rs 55,000 along with salary till October 15, which we were entitled to, and then they say it8217;s on humanitarian ground,8221; said crew members in chorus.
Meanwhile, at a press conference at Jet8217;s corporate headquarters at Marol, CEO Wolfgang Prock Schauer announced job cuts to the tune of 1900 across all departments including pilots and management. 8220;The situation has become severe and globally markets have gone down. Therefore, we8217;ve started releasing employees who8217;ve been on probation and not confirmed,8221; he said.
