Air India Express sacks 25 over mass sick leave protest

Air India Express, a TATA group-owned organisation, has taken drastic action following a recent incident where nearly 100 of its employees called in sick simultaneously, disrupting flight schedules across the country. The airline has reportedly sent termination letters to at least 25 crew members allegedly involved in the mass sick leave and has served an ultimatum to others on leave to join back before 4 pm on Wednesday or face action. Meanwhile, the labour commissioner of New Delhi has recognised the concerns of the Air India Express Union, leading to an official email to the Tata Group and its chairman The mass sick leave incident occurred on Tuesday night, leading to the cancellation and rescheduling of several flights, causing inconvenience to passengers.

The termination

In response to the situation, Air India Express has initiated disciplinary action against the employees involved. The termination letters sent to the crew members cite their participation in the unauthorised mass sick leave as the reason for their dismissal. The letter whose copy is with mid-day states, "This is about your employment with Air India Express Limited in the capacity of Cabin Crew Executive. It has been reported that you were rostered for a flight on 07.05.2024. However, you informed the Scheduling team at the last moment that you were unwell and accordingly reporting sick. It is noted that at or around the same time, an overwhelming number of other cabin crew members have also reported sick and have not reported for their duties. This clearly points to a pre-meditated and concerted abstention from work without any justifiable reason."

The letter continued, "As a result of the above, a large number of flights had to be cancelled thereby disrupting the entire schedule, which caused tremendous inconvenience to the company's esteemed passengers. Your act is not only subversive of public interest, but has also caused embarrassment, severe reputational damage, and serious monetary loss to the company. Your act of reporting sick for work amounts to a concerted action with a common understanding, to not operate the flight and to disrupt the services of the company. This is not only in violation of the applicable laws but also violates the Air India Express Limited Employees' Service Rules as are applicable to you."

The letter stating immediate termination stated, "In view of the above, the company has decided to terminate your employment with immediate effect on and from the date of this letter, and accordingly: (i) you will no longer be considered an employee of the company, and the company will no longer have any obligations to you as an employer; (ii) you will no longer have access to any official emails, servers, other communication, any information relating to the company; and (iii) you and/or your dependents shall not be eligible for any employee-related benefits that are provided by the company."

Effect on operations

An AIX staffer told mid-day, "A total of 74 flights were cancelled pan India as a result of the cabin crew who called in sick on Tuesday night. The airline is only running 292 flights on 20 routes. The airline has issued an ultimatum to all the employees who haven't been terminated to join back before 4 pm on Wednesday or face action."

AIX employee union speaks

This incident has raised concerns about the working conditions and grievances of the airline's employees. The Air India Express Employees Union has expressed dissatisfaction with the termination of the crew members. "Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU) is an affiliate of Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh. Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh is the largest trade Union of India which represents India at the International Labor Organisation (ILO) as an Indian delegate. There are concerning issues regarding the current situation at Air India Express Limited, particularly following its acquisition by TATA," said a union member.

Labour commissioner speaks

Ashok Perumalla, Regional Labour Commissioner, New Delhi, sent an email to Tata Group and its chairman. The email states, "The concerns of the Union are genuine. The management of Air India Express has not sent any responsible decision-makers to any of the conciliation proceedings. Mismanagement and blatant violations of labour laws were apparent. The HR department tried to mislead the conciliation officer with the wrong information and an idiotic interpretation of legal provisions. I suggest you send a high-level committee to inquire into the grievances of the employees and the functioning of the HR department and take corrective measures at the earliest to maintain harmonious industrial relations."

74
No of flights that were cancelled