Sacked Jet employees hold demonstrations

NEW DELHI: Dozens of Jet Airways employees, who were sacked by the airline, held a demonstration at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on Thursday.

"We are jobless. This is a wrong practice and shows the high-handedness of our employer," said an agitated employee, who joined the demonstration at the domestic 1B terminal at the airport.

Hundreds of retrenched staff, including pilots, cabin crew and ground staff, held protests at the Jet Airways office in Mumbai Wednesday and even knocked on the doors of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, seeking his intervention in the matter.

The airline has laid off 850 employees following a strategic and operational alliance with rival Kingfisher Airlines. Jet said 1,900 jobs were on the block.

Senior Commandant of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Udayan Banerjee told IANS the airline employees were holding a peaceful demonstration. CISF oversees security of the airport.

"They (the sacked Jet employees) have been on demonstration since 10 a.m. today (Thursday). They are holding agitation peacefully. But despite that, we have beefed up the security and have deployed security personnel from the CISF and the Delhi Police," Banerjee said.