Comments
Forum Gandhi
Jet Airways’ erstwhile employees will not get any benefits under the debt resolution offer made by the Murari Lal Jalan-Kalrock Capital consortium as their proposal did not get the required number of votes from the employees. The consortium had made it mandatory for at least 95 per cent of the employees to accept the offer.
However, only 35 per cent voted in favour, according to documents seen by BusinessLine.
The consortium had offered cash and non-cash benefits, including 0.5 per cent equity stake, in the airline to those who were on the rolls of Jet Airways till its insolvency in June 2019. Employees and workmen would have received ₹11,000 and ₹22,800, respectively.
In addition, the workmen were offered a phone, a laptop, or an iPad on a lottery basis and airline ticket vouchers worth ₹10,000.
The consortium had said that if 95 per cent of the staff did not vote in favour of the proposal it will automatically lapse.
Consequently, the 0.5 per cent stake reserved for the staff and the ₹8 crore allocated for making cash payments to the employees will now be given to financial creditors.
According to an internal letter reviewed by BusinessLine , majority of the employees (61.6 per cent) abstained from voting.
“No other creditor will have the right to seek the benefits set out in the proposal or any part thereof and such proposal shall stand withdrawn,” the letter stated.
“The proposal with respect to ticket credits, an equity stake in AGSL (Jet Airways’ subsidiary) and handover of IT assets shall revert to the company and no other creditor will be entitled to it,” it added.
BusinessLine had earlier reported that the staff members were unlikely to vote in favour of the proposal. The employees have claims worth ₹1,265 crore, but the consortium had proposed only a ₹52-crore package.
Kiran Pawaskar, President of All India Jet Airways’ Officers and Staff Association, had recently said that the settlement proposal was a “complete mockery of the process and neglected the rights of the workmen, staff, and officers completely to the extent that we have been brought to complete penury.”
Appeal in NCLT
Meanwhile, Bhartiya Kamgar Sena and Jet Airways Cabin Crew Association have filed filed an appeal in the NCLT for alleged violations of multiple sections of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 and the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.
“Our appeal is not entirely against the successful revival of Jet but challenging the Resolution Plan only to the extent of continuity of services of its members and their pending back wages. The plan defeats Section 25F, 25FF & 25N of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
“The plan doesn’t consider the gratuity aspect of the staff and clearly in violation of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972,” Rahul Oak, Counsel for the employees, said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.