Jet Airways pilots deny performing additional dues over due salary
The pilots of Jet Airways have threatened not to perform additional duties from next month, if the airline does not clear their salary dues by November 30, said an airline source on Monday. The pilots of the airline’s domestic body National Aviator's Guild (NAG) are likely to meet in Mumbai on Tuesday. The domestic pilots, which so far have allegedly been soft on the issue, are slated to discuss the prevailing financial situation at the carrier, it said.
The Naresh Goyal-controlled carrier has been reporting losses since last three successive quarters and defaulting on salary payments to a section of its staff.
"Pilots have decided that that they will not perform any additional duty and adhere only to the roster from December 1 if all salary dues are not cleared by November 30. The decision has been communicated to the management verbally," a source said.
The airline however, did not respond to the queries over the issue.
Around 1,600 Jet Airways pilots along with the cash-starved airline's engineers and senior management officials have been paid only 50 per cent of the September salary.
They are yet to receive the remaining 50 per cent of the month's (September) salary, besides the full salary of October.
Jet Airways Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube, during the post Q2 earnings analysts call last week had said, "Almost 15 per cent employees have not been receiving their salaries on time and I am sure they are less than happy."
As against 75 to 80 hours of flying per month, the Jet Airways' pilots have been flying up to 90 hours per month by taking up over-time duties as there is an acute shortage of pilots, particularly on the Boeing 737 fleet, the source said.
As many as 10 domestic flights were cancelled from Mumbai on Sunday due to shortage of pilots.
The airline however, attributed the cancellation to "operational reasons".
