The Hindu : Order on wage rights for Malaysian Airlines staff upheld

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 18, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Order on wage rights for Malaysian Airlines staff upheld

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, JAN. 17. A single judge order protecting the wage rights of 30 employees of Malaysian Airlines, identified by the management for retrenchment, has been upheld by the First Bench of the Madras High Court.

When the employees challenged the ouster move, counsel for the airline told the single judge that all 30 could join as general sales agents with full salary protection, medical benefit and leave facilities. The single judge recorded the undertaking and passed an order on July 29 last, with a condition that in the event of non-compliance with the conditions an order of injunction would come into effect.

However, the airline moved the court against seeking to modify the order on the ground that no such "concession" was given to the employees. The single judge then modified the order on September 8 and said, "if the retrenched employees suffer any monetary loss due to the change of service conditions as indicated above, the monetary loss shall be compensated by the management." Hence the present appeal.

However, the First Bench, comprising the Chief Justice B. Subhashan Reddy and Justice A. Kulasekaran said, "we do not find any error in the order of the single judge... he has rightly passed an order protecting the rights of the retrenched staff, of any difference in pay, as the same was agreed to be protected."

Pointing out that the writ petition had been kept pending, the Bench disposed of the appeal saying even if the petition was dismissed,"any payment made to employees can always be set off from the future amounts payable."

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