Employees’ dispute with Sahara may be referred to labour tribunal

New Delhi: India’s labour ministry may refer a labour dispute between former employees of Sahara Airlines Ltd and the Sahara India Pariwar to a tribunal, two years after the domestic carrier was bought by Jet Airways India Ltd.
Some 140 workers of Sahara Airlines moved an industrial disputes court against the Sahara India Pariwar in November 2007, alleging irregularities in the manner in which they were redeployed within the group.
Sahara Airlines was acquired by Jet Airways, India’s largest domestic carrier by passengers, for Rs1,405 crore in early 2007 and later rebranded as JetLite.
Though a majority of the employees at Sahara Airlines retained jobs in JetLite, some were redeployed within the Sahara India Pariwar, according to a staff re-allocation formula worked out in the merger and acquisition (M&A) deal, the details of which were not disclosed.
In February, 16 months after the complaint was registered, assistant labour commissioner A.C. Katoch, who is presiding over the case, noted in a filing: “Both the parties are given various suggestions for the amicable settlement... The workmen are ready for arbitration, but the suggestion is not acceptable to management.”
The matter is now before the labour ministry, which will decide whether it merits consideration at a tribunal. “We have asked Sahara for the record (pertaining to the agreement between the two companies on engagement of employees). But they have not submitted (it),” said a labour ministry official, who declined to be identified.
Anil Abraham, Sahara India Pariwar’s deputy general manager in New Delhi, did not reply to a questionnaire sent by Mint. Jet Airways, too, refused to give details on the matter, but the company’s public relations manager said “the manpower allocation and distribution exercise has been continuous” since the time Jet Airways acquired Sahara Airlines. A total of 1,300 people are currently employed by JetLite, the person said.
20/03/09 Maitreyee Handique/Tarun Shukla/Livemint

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Jetlite Mar 2009