The All India Jet Airways' Officers and Staff Association has filed an objection to the resolution plan of Jet Airways (JAI, Mumbai International), seeking more robust protections for its former employees ahead of its impending relaunch.
The association argued in its filing to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that the airline should not be allowed to restart unless it repays all back wages and other dues owed to staff dating to the April 2018-June 2019 period. It also seeks to nullify any waivers or forfeitures of these arrears signed by the staff, arguing that the current resolution plan is premised on the abuse of the rights of the former workers, particularly the forced forfeiture of any outstanding salaries, bonuses, retrenchment payments, and other forms of financial remuneration.
"The resolution plan is contingent on many hypotheticals about the use of crucial assets of the former Jet Airways, including its property, flight slots, and most importantly, its workers and employees," the association's president, Kiran Pawaskar, said.
Jet Airways suspended operations in April 2019 having been struggling financially for months before that. Some staff members remained formally employed even as the airline went into restructuring and was not paying salaries.
The appeal is a last-minute effort before the execution of the resolution plan approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in mid-2021. After the airline was recertified in mid-May 2022, the new owners - the Kalrock Capital-Murari Lal Jalan consortium - are clear to complete the takeover from the consortium of creditors. The new investors hope to relaunch operations in the third quarter of 2022.
