ID :
156422
Sun, 01/09/2011 - 08:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/156422
The shortlink copeid
140 JAL pilots, cabin attendants to sue JAL over dismissals+
TOKYO, Jan. 8 Kyodo - Some 140 former Japan Airlines Corp. pilots and cabin attendants plan to file a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court on Jan. 19, seeking nullification of the carrier's decision to dismiss them as part of its rehabilitation efforts,
sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.
The 140 are among the 165 pilots and cabin attendants JAL dismissed as of Dec.
31 last year after its voluntary retirement program failed to meet a job
reduction target, they said.
JAL filed for bankruptcy protection with the court under the corporate
rehabilitation law in January last year.
In court, lawyers for the 140 will question the necessity of the dismissals and
the reasonableness of the criteria by which JAL chose the plaintiffs, while
questioning if JAL made adequate efforts to avoid having to dismiss them, the
sources said.
JAL, which has pursued its restructuring program including air route cuts, has
barred some pilots and cabin attendants from working since last October, while
encouraging them to apply for the retirement program.
The 165 consist of 81 pilots and 84 cabin attendants, and include some who took
leave of certain durations for such reasons as illness. They also include
captains aged 55 or over, deputy captains aged 48 or over, and cabin attendants
aged 53 or over.
JAL labor unions have complained that there is no rationale for dismissing the
employees now that the airline's profit structure has improved, as seen by its
booking a larger-than-planned profit.
They also said the airline has not made adequate efforts to avoid dismissal
such as by introducing work-sharing arrangements and lowering the criteria age
below which employees would be allowed to apply for the retirement program,
adding that the airline's selection of employees for dismissal on the basis of
their age was tantamount to irrational discrimination.
The airline's rehabilitation plan calls for shedding 16,000 jobs by the end of
March, or around 30 percent of its group workforce. But only 1,470 employees
have applied for the voluntary retirement program.
==Kyodo
sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.
The 140 are among the 165 pilots and cabin attendants JAL dismissed as of Dec.
31 last year after its voluntary retirement program failed to meet a job
reduction target, they said.
JAL filed for bankruptcy protection with the court under the corporate
rehabilitation law in January last year.
In court, lawyers for the 140 will question the necessity of the dismissals and
the reasonableness of the criteria by which JAL chose the plaintiffs, while
questioning if JAL made adequate efforts to avoid having to dismiss them, the
sources said.
JAL, which has pursued its restructuring program including air route cuts, has
barred some pilots and cabin attendants from working since last October, while
encouraging them to apply for the retirement program.
The 165 consist of 81 pilots and 84 cabin attendants, and include some who took
leave of certain durations for such reasons as illness. They also include
captains aged 55 or over, deputy captains aged 48 or over, and cabin attendants
aged 53 or over.
JAL labor unions have complained that there is no rationale for dismissing the
employees now that the airline's profit structure has improved, as seen by its
booking a larger-than-planned profit.
They also said the airline has not made adequate efforts to avoid dismissal
such as by introducing work-sharing arrangements and lowering the criteria age
below which employees would be allowed to apply for the retirement program,
adding that the airline's selection of employees for dismissal on the basis of
their age was tantamount to irrational discrimination.
The airline's rehabilitation plan calls for shedding 16,000 jobs by the end of
March, or around 30 percent of its group workforce. But only 1,470 employees
have applied for the voluntary retirement program.
==Kyodo
