A little over half of private carrier Jet Airways’ 13,000 employees have accepted the management’s November offer of a voluntary, graded salary-cut, the airline confirmed today.
The airline’s 750-odd pilots are among those who have declined the proposal. The deadline for the offer ended December 10. Loss-making Jet Airways, the country’s largest airline by market share, was looking at a monthly saving of Rs 5 crore if all its employees accepted the wage cut.
Jet’s annual wage bill is Rs 2,000 crore, 25 per cent of the operating costs. The airline made a loss Rs 384 crore in the second quarter of 2008-9.
The airline declined to say what happens to those who have turned down the pay cut proposal. Earlier this month, Jet had asked its top management to voluntarily accept a 25 per cent pay cut, which they have done.
Jet’s Indian pilots had earlier made it clear to the airline that they would not accept the pay cuts unless the airline spelt out plans to pare the complement of around 300 expatriate pilots, who earn more than 75 per cent more than their Indian counterparts.
The graded salary cut that the airline proposed was for 5, 10 and 25 per cent cuts respectively for employees earning between Rs 75,000 and Rs 2,00,000 a month, Rs 2,00,000 and 5,00,000, and above Rs 5,00,000.
The voluntary offer followed soon after the airline was forced, under strong political pressure, to retract a decision to retrench 1,900 employees in October.
