It is going to be a crucial week for Jet Airways and its employees as the deadline set by the lenders to find a new owner looms large. State Bank of India had said it would find a new owner for the airline by May 31.

Representatives of Hinduja Group and Etihad Airways — the two bidders in the reckoning — are expected to hold meetings with lenders this week to try and cobble up a deal. Though there is no formal deadline to find a bidder, SBI had said in March that it expects to complete the process by May 31.

Hearing of cases

Meanwhile, hearings for different cases related to salary payments are being taken up by the Regional Labour Commissioner (RLC) for hearings on May 27 and 28.

The All India Jet Airways Officers & Staff Association (AIJAOSA), Jet Airways Maintenance Engineers Welfare Association, National Aviators Guild and Bhartiya Kamgar Sena had recently approached the RLC for recovery of salary, gratuity, provident fund and certificate of ‘workmen’.

AIJAOSA had filed a dispute with the RLC on the grounds of refusal of salary for January, February and March, along with pending gratuity and provident fund remittance. In the dispute between AIJAOSA and the Jet management, ex-promoter Naresh Goyal and SBI were made parties.

Prior to the temporary shut down on April 17, Jet Airways 16,000 permanent employees.

The airline owes ₹150 crore to its employees as of March 31. The hearing for this case is scheduled on May 27.

In the complaint filed by NAG, the pilots body of the airline, the RLC has already submitted a Failure of Conciliation (FoC).

Bhartiya Kamgar Sena had filed a dispute on two grounds — pending salaries and cancellation of airport passes of employees.

A hearing for this complaint was scheduled earlier this month but could not be held because the representatives of Civil Aviation Ministry did not attend the hearing. The hearing was then postponed to May 28.