January 14, 2011
The Air Line Pilots’ Association of Japan (ALPA) on January 11 issued a statement protesting Japan Airlines’ forcible dismissal of 165 pilots and cabin attendants at the end of last year.
ALPA, consisting of 95% of commercial airlines’ pilots in Japan, said that it will do its utmost to urge JAL to retract the dismissals of its employees and return them to their original workplaces.
The statement points out that JAL’s forcible dismissals are unnecessary because the number of JAL employees who voluntarily quit their jobs had reached 1,700, exceeding JAL’s goal of cutting 1,500 jobs.
JAL in its layoff-guidelines targets those who have taken sick leave or limited their flight duties for health reasons.
The statement stresses that if JAL fires its crew based on that guideline, it will be unable to maintain safe flight operations. The statement also points out that JAL’s dismissals based on age is a clear case of age discrimination.
The statement criticizes JAL and its administrator, the state-run Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan, for conducting unfair labor practices on the grounds that they forced pilots and cabin attendants to leave their jobs by sending blank flight schedules and that they sabotaged unions’ legal actions when the JAL Flight Crew Union and the Japan Airlines Cabin Crew Union independently took a vote on whether to go on strike or not in protest against the JAL dismissal plan.
ALPA said that in order to protect aviation safety, it is necessary for JAL to establish a healthy work environment without unfair labor practices. It expressed its determination to make efforts to reconstruct JAL as a company which provides a safe public transport service.
ALPA, consisting of 95% of commercial airlines’ pilots in Japan, said that it will do its utmost to urge JAL to retract the dismissals of its employees and return them to their original workplaces.
The statement points out that JAL’s forcible dismissals are unnecessary because the number of JAL employees who voluntarily quit their jobs had reached 1,700, exceeding JAL’s goal of cutting 1,500 jobs.
JAL in its layoff-guidelines targets those who have taken sick leave or limited their flight duties for health reasons.
The statement stresses that if JAL fires its crew based on that guideline, it will be unable to maintain safe flight operations. The statement also points out that JAL’s dismissals based on age is a clear case of age discrimination.
The statement criticizes JAL and its administrator, the state-run Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan, for conducting unfair labor practices on the grounds that they forced pilots and cabin attendants to leave their jobs by sending blank flight schedules and that they sabotaged unions’ legal actions when the JAL Flight Crew Union and the Japan Airlines Cabin Crew Union independently took a vote on whether to go on strike or not in protest against the JAL dismissal plan.
ALPA said that in order to protect aviation safety, it is necessary for JAL to establish a healthy work environment without unfair labor practices. It expressed its determination to make efforts to reconstruct JAL as a company which provides a safe public transport service.
