Jet Airways Pilots Strike
 

Jet Airways had to cancle more than 150 flights owing to their more than 360 pilots calling in sick. The pilots are supposed to be on sick call tomorrow as well.

Two of the Jet Airways pilots were fired for forming a unioin and three more pilots were sacked today as they refused to be examined by company doctors at their homes.

Pilots on mass leave: 130 Jet Airways flights cancelled - India Business - Business - NEWS - The Times of India

What's the primary reason for the strike?
bpp

Read the link above and it will tell you :rolleyes:

In support of two pilots sacked a couple of months ago for joining a guild wich is tantamount to a union.

3 more pilots sacked today . . . as protest intensifies . . .

Jet sacks 3 more pilots, protests to intensify

Good Luck to the Colleagues at Air India who stand against union busting. Hope the expats are civilized enough not to aid management.

Thanks captjns, couldn't get the link to open.
bpp

From what I hear these guys do get looked after far better than some of us over here in the UK, despite that to simply lose your job for starting a Union/Association is ridiculous. Must say it is certainly emboldening to see a few pilots with large cojones standing tall against tyrants :ok:

Timing
 

It must be considered: with the airline barely aloft amidst the worst crysis in the industry history, the idea of creating an union, a good thing by itself, but it's at the wrong time, wrong place and by the wrong people...

It's very likely that their terrible mistake will kill their company and jobs.
It happened many times in the past and seems that nobody learn the lesson.
Hopefully they realize this before is too late.:ugh:

if im not mistaken, jet airways and kingfisher merged a short while ago. from what ive heard the pilots in KF are not very happy so i wonder how this will transpire with them. i understand that they agreed to codeshare as well as cross crew along with using the same ground handeling agents.

i cant seem to get either of the two links to open so can one of you guys to do a copy and paste job? thanks!

this is the link extracted from the Indian Times.

NEW DELHI: At least 130 flights of Jet Airways were on Tuesday cancelled from the four major metros after a large chunk of pilots failed to report for work protesting against sacking of two of their colleagues, a step termed as "sabotage of operations" by the airlines.

Passengers in Mumbai were the worst hit with 115 flights out of the total 345 failing to take off while at least 10 flights of Jet Airways and its subsidiary JetLite were cancelled in Delhi. In Chennai, six flights were cancelled, including three international, and four in Kolkata.

However, the morning flight of the private carrier from Kolkata for Dhaka took off as scheduled, Jet Airways officials said.

Hit by the crisis, Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal met civil aviation secretary Madhavan Nambiar on Tuesday morning for about half-an-hour and is understood to have discussed the situation.

Ministry officials said the government was closely monitoring the situation.

Jet Airways in a press statement said that a section of the pilots have resorted to a "simulated strike by reporting sick".

"This organised activity is a planned sabotage of operations that will damage the airline's operations and inconvenience the travelling public," it said.

Jet Airways said all affected guests can get a full refund or rebook themselves on an alternate date without any cancellation or reissue charges, but passengers were not amused.

"The least the airline people could have done is informed me that my flight was being cancelled," complained VS Sharma who was to fly to Mumbai from Delhi. "I could have made alternative arrangements. Really, this is very, very bizarre."

The pilots have been demanding the reinstatement of two of their colleagues, who were sacked recently. The airline has some 700 pilots on its rolls.

"Regrettably, a section of the pilots who were rostered for operations have resorted to a simulated strike by reporting sick," a Jet Airways spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday morning.

"Jet Airways is taking all steps to minimise the inconvenience to its guests. The airline will make all efforts to operate the maximum number of flights," the statement said.

"However, perforce, some flights may have to be combined or cancelled; we will try to accommodate our guests on alternate flights."

The newly formed National Aviators Guild, a union of some Jet Airways pilots, has called the strike. They are protesting the sacking of two of their colleagues earlier this month. The airline has declined to recognise this union.

Girish Kaushik, the president of the guild, said they had issued the mandatory 14-day notice to the airline, adding the sacking of the two pilots was an act of vendetta for starting a new union and totally unjustified.

The two sacked senior pilots, Balaraman and Sam Thomas, were told of their termination by e-mail. The pilots claim that they were given the pink slip as they were instrumental in forming the new union.

"My sincere apologies to passengers. All we want is that the management takes the two pilots back. That is our only demand," Kaushik said. "We are not on strike. This is an individual decision by each pilot," Kaushik said.

Jet Airways said it has had been in conciliatory talks with the union and the regional labour commissioner had warned that any strike during this period would be deemed illegal as per the Industrial Disputes Act.

Every management gets the workforce they deserve.

Indian mergers
 

"if im not mistaken, jet airways and kingfisher merged a short while ago."

Both airlines were involved in mergers - but not with each other; Jet acquired Sahara, which became Jet's low cost subsidiary, JetLite. Kingfisher merged with Air Deccan, which was a low cost carrier.

I may be naive in saying this, but is there not Indian legislation covering this? I recall that Air India FEs went on strike a few years back and there were not dismissals (although I appreciate that AI is a state owned company). Surely, even if there is not legislation, Jet must realise that it cannot behave in this way and that the further sackings only exacerbates the situation, rather than bringing it to a conclusion. Good luck to the 9W pilots in getting through this, but it's sad that this can happen in a democracy in this day and age.

Sad as it is to see 2 pilots and now more sacked. I suspect it will have only one sad ending.

Jet are determined they will not be lumbered with a unionised work force.

Then comes the oldest management trick in the book. Divide and rule.

As the days goes by more and more pilots will break ranks and return to work. The management want to downsize so they need to get rid of crews. When enough pilots trickle back to work, the management will draw a line that day and say all those at work today will keep their jobs. The rest out.

The remaining crews will be a more manageable work force to contend with. The Kraut CEO did say there would be a solution in the next few days, so I suspect this is what he has in mind.

[QUOTE]Every management gets the workforce they deserve./QUOTE]


Now, that is a fact!!:ok:


Cheers
Colocolo

Well, I think it will come down to the unity amongst the pilots. If they are united then the management might have to agree to their demands.


Action against 5 more pilots.

fullstory

......Then..... when, where and who?

Thanks in advance.

Colocolo:confused:

A previous link giving an objective view was deleted by the MODS. So to keep it simple

It is not a strike, they have taken casual leave. This is permitted for 2 days under Indian law and guess what they get paid for it under Indian Law. If they wanted to stand up for what they believe they should also have the guts to go on strike instead of taking such an escapist and disruptive route. Give ample notice allow company to plan and respond and do it in a civilized manner.

Unions were good in the past especially for blue collar workers to defend their rights. In this day and age see where the auto unions have led the US car industry. Other posts on AI and their bloated staff are the result of unions there.

Why after all these years form a Union. I find it hard to believe pilots are being given an unsafe environment to work in or being over worked. Politics is a good paymaster and I suspect 2 senior captains seem to have such aspirations. This will lead all including Jet down the Tube.....

Overall if you read the media reports and public reaction the Pilots have come out as the "bad Boys" in this. Very very sad that in such hard times when the losses are a published fact good employees of companies cause further losses, grief and trauma on poor guidance.

I suspect the ex pats are staying away from this cause they know in the end it is about $$$$'s and in some of the countries where they are from the unemployment situation needs no explanation. I guess it would take some people a soup line to explain what it means to struggle to survive and what it means to be plain greedy.

:*

Well done!
 

Congratulations to the pilots of Jet Airways who have done what most have should have done on numerous occasions. They had the balls to do it .
Well done gentlemen/women.

You're looking at the wrong industry, mate.

US airlines have heavily unionized pilot groups. They somehow manage to stagger into the air every morning.....