95% Jet staff must consent to Kalrock-Jalan proposal or lose benefits

Employee claims worth Rs 1,265 crore were admitted and the consortium has proposed Rs 52 crore.

At least 95 per cent of Jet Airways employees will have to give their consent to the Kalrock-Jalan consortium’s proposal or lose benefits offered to them under the revival plan.

Voting on the consortium’s offer for employees and workmen began on Monday and will go on till August 4.

The National Company Law Tribunal cleared the consortium proposal to revive the airline on June 22.

While Jet Airways had admitted claims of around Rs 15,000 crore, the consortium has offered to settle claims of Rs 475 crore of financial and non financial creditors.

Employee claims worth Rs 1,265 crore were admitted and the consortium has proposed Rs 52 crore to settle all their claims.

Additionally, for the employees and workmen, the consortium has offered cash and non cash benefits including 0.5 per cent equity stake in the airline to those who were on the rolls of Jet Airways when it went into insolvency in June 2019.

A welfare trust will be formed of all the staff and it will hold 0.5 per cent stake in the airline and 76 per cent stake in its ground handling subsidiary.

Employees and workmen would be paid Rs 11,000 and Rs 22,800 respectively.

Each of the workmen would be given a phone, laptop or an ipad through a lottery basis and ticket vouchers worth Rs 10,000.

There were around 9,000 employees with the airline in June 2019 and that figure has dwindled to around 3600.

In case 95 per cent of staff do not vote in favour of the proposal it will automatically lapse.

The 0.5 per cent stake reserved for the staff and Rs 8 crore allocated for making cash payments to them will be given to financial creditors.

Only 50 of the existing staff will be absorbed in the airline and the rest will be transferred to the ground handling subsidiary as a part of the resolution plan.

An employee said that Rs 11,000 or Rs 22,800 cash offer is a small consolation for the staff who have been waiting for the revival.

“There is no assurance of a job in the new entity and moreover if we get selected it will be at lower pay than what we earned in 2019,”  said another staffer.

Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters