MAS: Lay-off packages fair to all, no discrimination

Allegations by a union of unfair treatment by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) in its ongoing staff retrenchment exercise, is described as perplexing by a source involved in the exercise.

"The National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) is just being "disingenuous and sneaky" in the way it portrays itself by intentionally disregarding hard facts concerning the issue," said the source.

Nufam on Tuesday alleged that MAS had offered unequal reemployment terms and conditions to those affected, while some long-serving cabin crew including those currently on maternity leave and single mothers, were among those who would not be reemployed.

"All unions in MAS were consulted several times and have been working fairly and constructively with management. Nufam is right in saying that it had not been consulted but fails to mention it is an unrecognised union in MAS," another source told Bernama.

They pointed out that the biggest of MAS' unions, the Malaysia Airlines System Employees Union (Maseu) had always objected to Nufam and legal cases were ongoing between them.

"So, how can the management consult a union that is unrecognised without incurring the wrath of the recognised union for cabin crew like Maseu?" asked the source.

Due to the fact that Nufam’s claim for recognition is pending judicial review at the High Court, it is not recognised by MAS, and therefore has not been engaged or consulted on employee related matters.

Nufam had also alleged that single mothers and other vulnerable groups were being heartlessly "let go" by MAS, while ignoring the fact that these groups would be getting 30 per cent on top of the Collective Agreement (CA) settlement which many had accepted as generous for a company in such deep financial

difficulties like MAS, they said.

Responding to claims that MAS even terminated female crew members who are on maternity leave, the source explained that the termination notice was valid for three months and employees leaving MAS, including those who are on two-month maternity leave, would continue to be paid their monthly salary during the notice period, and receive the termination package in September.

"It is already public knowledge that MAS will need to shed 6,000 staff for its restructuring. This was made known last August and last month it was announced that all staff are expected to get their letters by June 1.

So how do you leave the letters for staff under maternity leave until they come back to work?

"It is damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Wouldn’t these staff be anxious to know of their status when all their colleagues had received their letters?

"Letters sent out to those offered reemployment are all different without stating that they are based on a formula designed to give more to the junior and graded staff and less to management staff who are generally better off. This is fairness and compassion and not discrimination as alleged by Nufam," said the source.

As far as Khazanah, the owner of MAS is concerned, the restructuring was guided by the principles of fairness, transparency and compassion which included the right-sizing of the workforce that was preceded by a rigorous and robust selection process that strived hard to be fair and transparent.

Employees exiting MAS by Aug, 31 2015 will receive a termination package based on a formula that is similar to those under existing Collective Agreements. The package includes medical benefits for one year and payment for unutilised leave.

In this regard, the sources said that on top of the termination package, there would be a further "safety net" payment of 30 per cent to vulnerable groups that include physically-challenged employees, single parents, and married couples where both spouses were exiting.

As to claims that MAS ignored the psychological effect on the employees who have been terminated by asking them to continue to work until end-August, the source said the three-month termination notice is required by law.

The irony, according to the source is that, Maseu, MAS’ biggest union, hich had been part of the negotiation team, had recently said the affected 6,000 MAS employees were all happy and generally gave a positive response as they were prepared for any eventuality.

"Their feedback is that they were all right and satisfied with the compensation received. No protests were reported and all went smoothly as they already knew and accepted the fact," MASEU president Alias Aziz had recently said.

Khazanah National in its quarterly report released yesterday had highlighted that the reduced workforce at NewCo - the company taking over Malaysia Airlines - is driven primarily by operational requirements of the new airline.

As such, not all employees who possessed the talent and experience that matched NewCo’s needs have been offered employment.

The sovereign wealth fund will be forking out up to RM1.5 billion for payments and benefits provided to both employees joining NewCo and leaving MAS.

The latest Employee Consultative Panel (ECP) held on June 2, 2015, had further discussed employee matters, including clarification on termination packages and benefits, as well as matters related to employment at NewCo.

The ECP was to further ensure a smooth and appropriate transition for employees.

The unions in attendance were the Malaysia Airlines Pilots’ Association (MAPA), Malaysian Airline System Managerial Staff Association (MASMA), Malaysia Airline System Executive Staff Association (MESA), Malaysian Airline System Employees’ Union Peninsular Malaysia (MASEU), Sabah Executive Staff Association of Malaysian Airline System (SEAMAS), Sarawak Executive Staff Committee (SESC), Airlines Workers Union Sarawak (AWUS) and Air Transport Workers’ Union Sabah (ATWUS).

"Nufam was not part of the ECP, and it is to the employees benefit to seek guidance or clarifications from the respective recognised unions," both sources said.