AIRLINES that have plans to lay off more staff should also provide proper counselling to help them cope with the situation, said the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam).

This should be made mandatory as the industry is expected to see more layoffs in the coming months because of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Industry sources also said it would take another two to three years before airlines get back on their feet.

Union president Ismail Nasaruddin told The Malaysian Insight the counselling sessions should have already started as airlines have laid off hundreds of employees since the start of the pandemic.

“The counselling sessions should also be made mandatory and costs for the sessions should be borne by the airline companies. The mandatory move must be imposed on companies that want to lay off workers,” Ismail said.

“Such a move will prevent or make airline companies more cautious, particularly financially, about any unnecessary retrenchment exercise.”

Nufam has previously said that workers who have been laid off recently should be given one-to-one counselling, adding that some facing termination are unable to cope with being made redundant.

It also urged the Human Resources and Transport Ministries to look into the suggestion.

Ismail said the union has also received complaints of unfair retrenchment.

“We have already seen thousands losing their jobs since the Covid-19 pandemic and many of the affected workers have complained to the union about the unfair manner in which the retrenchment was carried out by the airlines,” he said.

“There seems to be a lack of enforcement to prevent retrenchment as companies are given so much freedom to abuse the law.

“There is a serious need to monitor and prevent airlines from abusing their powers to terminate these employees so freely.”

Earlier this month, a man was believed to have committed suicide by jumping off the 12th floor of a condominium in Bandar Kinrara, Serdang, after suffering stress due to losing his job as a pilot two months earlier.

The 35-year-old was said to have been depressed and feeling pressured after losing his job.

Malaysia Airlines Bhd group chief executive officer Captain Izham Ismail, meanwhile, said the company always prioritises the people, be it customers or employees.

“During these unprecedented times, the group has proactively taken steps to ensure the well-being of our employees and introduced the employee assistance programme (EAP) in March to provide employees with the support they need for their psychosocial (mental, social, emotional and spiritual) health,” Izham said.

“The EAP has been the starting block for other employee welfare programmes, such as providing employees with continuous communications and engagement to raise awareness in adapting to the new norm, access to financial counselling and financial literacy courses through engagements with Agensi Kaunseling Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) and other financial bodies.”

Malaysia Airlines recently launched the MHeart Naluri app, designed for employees as a 24/7 digital platform for psychological counselling and health management support with real coaches, physicians, psychologists and counsellors.

“The app encourages living a healthy lifestyle, which will have a positive impact on the mental well-being of our employees,” Izham said.

The Malaysian Insight has also contacted Malindo Air and AirAsia to see if they, too, are considering such services for their staff.

Malindo has yet to respond while AirAsia declined to comment.

The airline industry has been one of the worst-hit sectors in the Covid-19 pandemic, with borders closed and travel restrictions implemented to stem the spread of the virus.

Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said recently the domestic air travel market will take 18 months to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which previously said that the aviation industry will take two or three years to recover, posted a bearish outlook after the recovery of passenger traffic in June was slower than expected.

The aviation industry body also said passenger traffic will likely not return to pre-Covid-19 levels until 2024, a year later than previously projected.

A total of 172 pilots, 111 cabin crew members and 50 engineers were reportedly laid off from the AirAsia group.

On June 3, AirAsia held town-hall sessions to inform staff from various departments of imminent layoffs as part of its resizing exercise.

As for Malindo, the hybrid airline company had offered both permanent and contract staff a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) and long-term unpaid leave of a year, after which their employment status with the company will be made known. – August 14, 2020.