New Delhi: Amid the coronavirus pandemic, debt-ridden Air India has approved Leave Without Pay (LWP) scheme for employees ranging from six months or two years and extendable up to five years.
According to a letter, the scheme authorises Air India CMD Rajiv Bansal to issue the LWP to employees depending on their suitability, efficiency, competence, quality of performance, the health of the employee, the instance of non-availability of the employee for duty in past, as a result of ill-health or otherwise and redundancy.
"Accordingly, departmental heads at headquarters and regional directors are required to assess individuals on the above-mentioned factors and identify the cases where the option of compulsory LWP can be exercised. Names (to be approved) by CMD," the letter dated July 14 read.
The regional directors will constitute a committee comprised of General Manager (Personnel), General Manager (Finance) and concerned departmental head. The names of such employees need to be forwarded to General Manager (Personnel), Headquarters for obtaining necessary approval of the CMD.
Those employees who do opt for the scheme will not be allowed to take up a job in any other public sector.
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"Employees taking up employment after availing LWP under the scheme or at a later date, in another airline and allied services or in any organisation with which the company has dealing, should seek prior permission from the company, before taking up employment in such an organisation," the letter further said.
As per the order, the employees can avail medical/passage benefits even during the period of leave without pay under the scheme.
Earlier, the Air India pilot association had told Rajiv Bansal that the national carrier should follow private airlines on cost-cutting measures and said that the employee strength should be brought at par with other market players through measures like compulsory leave without pay.
"Since Air India is in financial distress on account of the pandemic the employee strength should be brought at par with other market players through common-sense measures like "Compulsory leave without pay" till the time normal operations resume," the letter from ICPA and IPG had stated.
Notably, the national carrier Air India's net loss in 2018-19 is provisionally estimated to be Rs 8,556.35 crore.
The government had in January invited preliminary bids to divest its entire stake in Air India and the airline's subsidiary Air India Express along with its joint venture Air India SATS Airports Services Private Limited. But, due to coronavirus pandemic, the government had on June 27 extended the deadline to submit bid documents for Air India by two months to 31 August.
Of the airline's total debt of Rs 60,074 crore as of March 31, 2019, the buyer would be required to absorb Rs 23,286 crore, while the rest would be transferred to Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL).
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