Zitat

HYDERABAD
Facing the heat of the financial crisis that has hit the aviation sector, state-owned Air India on Thursday said it is considering a pl
an to give 3-5 years leave without pay to about 15,000 of its staff, but it would be voluntary action on the employees’ part.

"We are planning to offer leave without pay for three to five years. We can consider it for about 15,000 employees," Air India CMD Raghu Menon said.
He, however, said those who take up the offer to go on leave would be taken back if they desire so at the same seniority and last drawn pay.
An official of National Aviation Company of India Ltd, the holding company of Air India, clarified that this was not tantamount to retrenchment as was being done by private carriers Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines.
Menon's statement comes at a time when the country's leading private carrier Jet Airways has laid off 1,900 jobs as the financial crunch in the aviation sector worsens.
An official of Air India, who did not want to be named, said that a proposal for leave without pay could be brought before the company's board soon.
The government yesterday had, however, ruled out any job cuts in Air India with the civil aviation minister Praful Patel assuring employees that there were no plans to prune staff strength immediately...............