Gulf Air to reinstate sacked Bahraini employees

BAHRAINI employees who were to be made redundant as part of restructuring plans at Bahrain’s national carrier will be reinstated.

Gulf Air’s board held an extraordinary meeting yesterday after contracts of “less than 100” Bahraini and expatriate staff were to be ended as part of a restructuring plan to offset annual financial losses.

The board issued a decision to reverse Wednesday’s sackings and reinstate Bahraini employees to their posts.

“The board of directors issued a directive to retract redundancies within Bahraini staff and allow them to return to work for the airline,” said Gulf Air in a statement.

“The directive also included the need to study the organisational structure of the airline benchmarking it to international airline standards.”

The airline also said it would study a number of options to maintain the rights of the workforce.

“This is in line with the airline’s continuous mission to support and invest in Bahrainis as valuable human resource assets,” it added.

The board also confirmed that the strategy for 2018 and beyond was being implemented to enhance its services as well as to carry out a “sound restructuring to increase operational efficiency without jeopardising the level and quality of services provided to Gulf Air passengers”.

Meanwhile, Labour and Social Development Ministry Under-Secretary Sabah Al Doseri yesterday said that dismissal of Bahraini staff at Gulf Air would not be acceptable.

“I have spoken with top officials in Gulf Air regarding this issue and have met some of the Bahrainis,” he told the GDN.

“We are aware of about 30 Bahrainis who received letters from the airline.

“There will be no redundancies until proper solutions are worked out by the airline.”

Flight Attendants General Trade Union head Abdul Qader was among a group of unionsts from Gulf Air who met Mr Al Doseri yesterday along with representatives from the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU).

“The reason mentioned by the airline in the dismissal letters that were given to staff state the measure was taken due to restructuring plans,” he said.

“We do not have a correct number of how many Gulf Air staff were involved, but can confirm among those affected were 35 Bahrainis.”

Team

He also said that the union would take up the case of expatriate workers affected – adding that the restructuring plan would continue at overseas stations.

The GFBTU also issued a statement in which it announced the formation of a special team along with the Gulf Air Trade Union, the Flight Attendants General Trade Union and other unionists to follow up the issue.

“The staff got the letters and asked to hand over all company belongings in the next three days,” said the statement.

Gulf Air is one of the largest employers in Bahrain, providing direct and indirect employment to more than 5,000 people, including 3,000 in the airline alone.

Fleet

The GDN reported in April that the airline reduced its losses by 62pc year-on-year from BD62.7 million in 2014 to BD24.1m in 2015 as a result of a restructuring that was started in 2013.

The figure was 88pc when compared with losses of BD196m ($519.8m) in 2012.

This comes as the airline embarks on a new era of expansion, with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner received on April 27, the first of 39 Boeing and Airbus aircraft being added to its fleet over the next four years.

The purchase order for the planes, worth a total of $7.6 billion, was announced at the Bahrain International Airshow in 2016 and the expansion marks a U-turn for the carrier that has undergone a massive cost-cutting drive.

Source: http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/428849

 

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