Jet Authorities want health proof of 400 pilots who went on mass sick leave yesterday, but pilots refuse to let them into their homes
Jet Authorities want health proof of 400 pilots who went on massu00a0sick leave yesterday, but pilots refuse to let them into their homes
If the 400 Jet Airways pilots who went on mass sick leave and affected services of 186 flights yesterday are indeed sick, then the authorities want proof.
It has decided to send a team of doctors to their homes to check on their health.
The pilots, who are members of National Aviators Guild (NAG), went on a mass sick leave after a notice from regional labour commissioner (Central) prohibited them to go on strike.
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GROUNDED: Jet Airways air hostesses return to the bus stationed outside the departure gate at the Chhatrapati Shivaji domestic airport yesterday. |
They were protesting the sacking of two senior pilots last month. Yesterday, Jet sacked three more senior pilots Suhail Jain, Rashmi Gaur and Venkat Vinod for joining the pilots' union.
Srirupa Sen, spokesperson, Jet Airways, said she did not have any information and refused to comment.
No step back"They can sack people, but we will not step back. We will talk only to Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal," said Captain Girish Kaushik, president of the Guild.
No entryMeanwhile, the pilots have decided to close their doors to doctors. Kaushik added, "We will not entertain any Jet official in our homes.
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Our residence is our personal property and even the president of India does not have
the right to enter without permission."
"This is not my personal decision. The union has taken this decision against Jet and I have pulled back the strike application from the labour commissioner's office," added Kaushik.
Another pilot, on condition of anonymity, said, "We have been asking them to reinstate the sacked pilots for a long time, but Jet authorities haven't taken it seriously.
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They are are entirely responsible for this situation."
A commercial booking staff of Jet Airways said that all bookings were stopped indefinitely yesterday.
Support for Jet PilotsThe National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) have decided not to use Jet flights to reach their ships, nationally or internationally.
Abdul Gani Sarang, general secretary, NUSI, told MiD DAY, "We are with the Jet pilots and are ready to support them in every way." NUSI is supported by more than one lakh seafarers in the country.
PunishmentThe government may implement the Essential Services Maintenance Act on the civil aviation industry to control the situation.
Under this act, violators can be punished with imprisonment up to one year, according to M S Khan, senior lawyer of Delhi High Court.
770Number of pilots in Jet Airways
163
Number of captains who reported sick yesterday
13,000
Passengers affected due to u00a0mass leave, equal to the number of Michael Jackson fans who danced to Thriller in Mexico as a tribute to the King of Pop
