Did rolling up sleeves cost air-hostess two promotions?

For air-hostess Rima*, wearing a cardigan with the sleeves rolled back was a triviality, but the airline apparently took such a serious view of it that it cost her two promotions. The question before the Bombay high court now is whether the airline was making too much out of her sartorial transgressions or they indeed deserved harsh disciplinary action.

Even as Rima is battling her employer National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) in the high court for her backwages from two stalled promotions, the company says it has been rather lenient with her, calling her a “habitual breacher” of rules and regulations.

Rima, who moved court last year, has contended that she joined Air India (AI) in 1979 and has been working with the company since then. However, a “trivial” mistake on her part has cost her backwages to the tune of Rs60 lakh from two promotions, which were delayed owing to a punishment handed out to her.

On April 2, 1993, Rima has stated in her petition, she was chargesheeted for wearing a cardigan with sleeves pushed back, which looked “very shabby”, not carrying an authorisation to wear the cardigan on the flight, not wearing a winter overcoat at Frankfurt Airport and not attending to a passenger. While Rima said she wore the cardigan because she was feeling unwell, she pushed the sleeves behind because they were short. She stated she did not feel the need to wear an overcoat at Frankfurt airport, even with the temperature being as low as six degrees centigrade, because the airport was well-heated. She denied not attending to the passenger.

An affidavit filed by Meenakshi Kashyap, assistant general manager, AI, however, enlists a number of instances when Rima’s behaviour was found out of line. While she had ‘forgotten’ to serve meals to two passengers on a Bangkok flight in 1984, another passenger complained that she did not look after his three-year-old well in 1986. Another passenger complained, in 1992, that Rima “lacked courtesy, politeness to the passengers and she was also uncivil in her interaction with passengers and crew.”

The ministry of civil aviation is also a respondent in Rima’s petition. Counsel for the ministry, Rui Rodrigues, said that after hearing the case last week, the court has adjourned it for further hearing for four weeks.

In-flight supervisors also complained that Rima did not abide by protocol and refused to greet senior members of crew, Kashyap stated. When asked to wear an overcoat at Frankfurt, she said, “I don’t have it. Do what u like,” the affidavit says.

The enquiry committee of AI, Kashyap’s affidavit says, had absolved Rima of the charge of “neglect of work” on humanitarian grounds and held her guilty of breach of rules and regulations. As punishment, her increments were stopped but she was given her promotions after the punishment period was over in 2000.

In 2007, AI had passed an order to give Rima her due promotion of senior check airhostess and re-fix her seniority, which she had accepted with “thanks.” She was well aware that at no stage would she be liable to be paid backwages.
(*Name changed)