Jet pilots defer mass leave decision to April 15

New Delhi, March 31 (IANS) The pilots' union of Jet Airways on Sunday postponed, till April 15, their decision to go on mass leave to protest non-payment of salaries.

The decision comes after Jet Airways on Saturday said it will soon pay the remaining December salaries to employees.

"The pilots have decided that time should be given to the new interim management till April 14 to clear salary dues in conjunction with interim funding, and charter a clear road map for the future of the company. The collective call of the pilots is hence deferred to April 15, 2019," the National Aviators Guild (NAG) told its members in a communication issued after its open-house meeting on Sunday.

The open-house meeting of the NAG was held both in Mumbai and Delhi.

The NAG, with over 1,000 members, had last month called for non-cooperation and announced they would refrain from operating flights if, by March 31, their dues were not cleared and the clarity on the company's resolution plan was not given.

In an email to employees, Jet's Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube on Saturday said: "You also have our commitment that the Board of Directors and the management team are working as fast as possible to implement the resolution plan agreed with the consortium of Indian lenders to quickly restore the much-needed stability to our operations and build a sustainable future for the airline."

"These are complex processes and it has taken longer than we had expected and as such we are only able to remit your remaining salary for December 2018. We realise that this remittance does not lift the financial hardship that each of you are facing and we do not take your sacrifices for granted.

"We continue to work on additional funding on an urgent basis and shall advise you about the release of the remaining salary arrears as the funds come in," Dube added.

On March 25, a consortium of banks, led by the State Bank of India (SBI), had agreed to infuse extra cash into the company.