Cash-strapped Jet Airways defaults on September salary of managers and other employees

Mumbai: After delay in paying pilots, engineers and senior management personnel, Jet Airways has delayed payment of salaries for September to other categories of employees, an airline source said on Wednesday. However, the full-service carrier said that while salaries were remitted as per schedule, the credit was likely delayed due to public holiday on Tuesday. The airline, partially owned by UAE national carrier Etihad Airways, has been grappling with the financial problems for quite some now. It has been struggling to mop up funds to meet its payment obligations, including salaries to its over 16,000-strong workforce. [caption id=“attachment_1225773” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] “We generally get our salary on the 1st of (every) month. Last month, the airline had paid to all employees except senior management, pilots and engineers on time. “But this time (September), they have failed to pay even to other categories of employees such as manager and above levels,” the source said. The source said the employees in A1-A5, O2 and O3 grade, or whose salaries are up to Rs 75,000 per month, were paid on 1 October, while the rest of the staffers in the M2, M3, E1 and above grades have not been paid yet. “Salaries for all employees, excluding pilots, AMEs (Aircraft Maintenance Engineers) and the leadership, were remitted as per schedule, although its credit was likely delayed due to yesterday’s public holiday,” the airline said in a late evening statement. 2 October was a public holiday on account of Gandhi Jayanti. On 6 September, the airline informed senior employees that their salaries would be paid in two instalments till November. The salaries for August was to be paid in two instalments 50 percent by 11 September and the remaining by 26 September. Though the private carrier paid the first tranche on time, it could disburse only 50 percent amount of the second instalment on the designated date and deferred the payment of rest 50 percent to 9 October.