Air India to send certain employees on leave without pay

Air India has initiated the process of identifying employees, based on various factors like efficiency, health and redundancy, who will be sent on compulsory leave without pay (LWP) for up to five years, according to an official order.

The airline’s board of directors have authorised its Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Bansal to send employees on LWP “for six months or for a period of two years extendable up to five years, depending upon the following factors – suitability, efficiency, competence, quality of performance, the health of the employee, an instance of non-availability of the employee for duty in the past as a result of ill health or otherwise and redundancy”, the order statement on July 14.

The departmental heads in the headquarter as well as regional directors are required to assess each employee “on the above-mentioned factors and identify the cases where the option of compulsory LWP can be exercised”. “Names of such employees need to be forwarded to the General Manager (Personnel) in headquarter for obtaining necessary approval of CMD,” the order added.

In response to queries regarding this matter, Air India spokesperson said, “We would not like to make any comment on the issue.”

The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, LWP and firings of employees in order to conserve cash flow.