SEPANG: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) employees say they are being unfairly punished for blunders made by the top management.

A senior cabin crew member who wished to be known only as Raj, 42, said workers who had no say in the management policies should not have to bear the brunt of the airline’s failures.

“I have served the company for more than 18 years and people like me want to know whether our contributions will be appreciated.

“Many of us are still in the dark about the severance package and we are worried about our future. Please don’t dump us like rubbish,” he said.

Raj said during a townhall meeting in March, cabin crew were told that they would receive only 0.8% of their basic pay based on the years of service.

“This is much lower than what was agreed upon under the Collective Agreement (CA) of at least one month and a half of their monthly basic pay,” he said.

The father of two from Ampang said due to his age, it would be hard to get a job in another airline.

“The other airlines prefer hiring younger people.

“We have a lot of commitments and the company needs to offer the best deals to all of us,” he added.

A pilot who wanted to be known only as Karim, 35, said there was uncertainty as the management had not been forthcoming with details of the termination process.

“It is also unfair that we have to respond to the company’s letters within a week or two,” he said.

Stewardess Sakinah Nordin, 28, said flight cabin crew members were likely to be axed as the company had stopped several routes, including in Europe.

“Nobody knows what will happen and whether we will still have our jobs next week,” she said.

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Job cuts at global airlines

Air France-KLM, April 2015

Aside from speeding up cost-cutting targets, the Franco-Dutch airline will cut investment by €600mil (RM2.38bil) over two years and cut 800 jobs through voluntary measures. The carrier had also cut 8,000 jobs in the past three years under a group-wide restructuring plan.



Ural Airlines, Febuary 2015

This Russia-based airline implemented a new payment system that pays pilots per flight instead of per hour.



Air India, January 2015

The airline froze the creation of fresh posts, except in operational areas, with all domestic temporary postings withdrawn unless justified. All contractual engagements were frozen along with all temporary engineering department postings, and all surplus staff were identified by mid-Feb.



Qantas, Febuary 2014

The Australian airline slashed 5,000 jobs or 15% of its workforce in 2014 in its efforts to cut a total of US$1.8bil (RM6.48-bil) over a three-year period. A year later, Qantas announced on Feb 27, 2015 that it posted a first-half net profit of A$204mil (RM574.81mil).



Iberia, July 2014

The Spanish airline, which merged with British Airways in 2011, paved the way to cut a total of 4,500 jobs by the end of 2015 after coming to an agreement with unions. The job losses are reportedly voluntary, and would only affect pilots and ground staff. The restructuring programme for the loss-making airline had begun in 2012.



Scandinavian Airlines, June 2014

The flag carrier of Sweden, Norway and Denmark had to cut a total of 300 support and administrative jobs, with the company also introducing a three billion kronor (RM1.29bil) cost-saving programme spanning 2013 to 2015. Previously, the Nordic airlines had cut thousands of jobs as part of its cost-reduction drive.



Kenya Airlines, 2012

The airline announced an "ambitious" job-cut plan after 126 out of a total of 600 staff targeted for retrenchment voluntarily left the airline. Air Kenya aimed to save a total of US$15mil (RM54mil) per year in

staff costs from the retrenchments. Air Kenya proceeded to implement the staff reduction plan after a Kenyan court lifted orders blocking the plan's implementation.



Japan Airlines, 2010

In 2010, JAL slashed its employee numbers by 30%, retrenching 16,000 out of a total of 48,700 employees in a bid to turn the airline around from bankruptcy. The airline also retired 103 aircraft and cut 10 international

and 39 domestic routes.