Salary dues: Jet Airways pilots not to do additional duties
Mumbai, Nov 19 : The Jet Airways' pilots have threatened not to perform additional duties from next month if their salary dues were not cleared by November 30, an airline source said Monday.
Besides, the airline's domestic pilots body National Aviator's Guild (NAG), which has so far allegedly been soft on the issue, is likely to meet here on Tuesday 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," the source told PTI.
Queries sent to Jet Airways on the issue did not yield any response.
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.
"Almost 15 per cent employees have not been receiving their salaries on time and I am sure they are less than happy," Jet Airways Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube had acknowledged during the post Q2 earnings analysts call last week.
According to the source, 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.
Notably, as many as 10 domestic flights were cancelled abruptly from Mumbai on Sunday due to shortage of pilots, though the airline attributed the cancellation to "operational reasons".
After posting a loss of Rs 1,323 crore in the June quarter, Jet Airways announced in September that it will pay pilots, engineers and senior management in two tranches--11th and 26th of every month -- till November, a schedule which it has failed to stick to.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
