Mumbai: Job or compensation

While discussing the points they wanted to convey to Raj Thackeray before the MNS leader arrived, one of the ex-employees said, "We understand the market conditions. They shouldn't sack us. We are willing to work at a lesser pay. But if they are adamant about terminating our services, they should give (each of) us Rs 4 lakh as compensation."

Get more support

Raj arrived at around 3 pm and listened to Sameer Dalvi, who was representing the group. He asked if those who were still flying would support them.

When the sacked employees assured him that they would, Raj Thackeray advised, "Tell them (those currently employed) to stop work. If nothing is finalised even after that, we won't allow any take offs or landings in Mumbai or the rest of Maharashtra."

Form a union

A need for a union for the cabin crew was also discussed and the ex-employees unanimously agreed.
Meet on Thursday

Before they dispersed, Dalvi told the sacked employees, "You have to talk to the people who are still employed at Jet Airways. What happened to you may happen to them. We should talk to them about job security. Let the MNS also talk to them. Mr Thackeray has come all the way from Pune. We have to respect him. You must be present, in uniform, in large numbers at Marol Naka at 11 am on Thursday."

Shiv Sena's Bharatiya Kamgar Sena also plans to support these employees.

Sameer: The leader

A Qatar Airways employee Sameer Dalvi stood up as a voice for the 850 Jet Airways employees who were sacked, as he had a bitter experience with Jet three years ago. He told MiD DAY, "I was a Jet employee and a victim of the management's harassment. I finally had to leave and join another airline. They were targeting me for talking in Marathi with my colleagues. They favour Parsis. When I questioned a senior, who was a Parsi about why they were talking in Gujarati, the harassment that followed was unbearable. Jet is famous for its vindictiveness."