Vistara Airlines Sends Sr Employees On 'Compulsory Leave Without Pay' For Three Days

As the nationwide lockdown is extended for till May 3, Vistara Airlines has once again decided to go with the 'Compulsory No Pay Leave' up to three days for its senior employees from April 15 to 30.

Vistara had introduced the compulsory leave without pay for up to three days on March 27 and was scheduled to remain effective From April 1 to April 14 but with lockdown extension, the airliner has once again implemented the policy from April 15 to April 30.

"With the government of India extending the lockdown, we continue to suspend all our domestic and international operations till May 3, 2020, and this further impacted significantly on our cash flow with no revenue being generated over an extended period," CEO Leslie Thng said in an email to employees, according to news agency PTI.

The move said to be a cost-cutting measure to save its employees from unemployment. PM Modi had earlier appealed to the employers across India, not to sack employees in these testing times.

The move is likely to affect about 30 per cent of the total workforce which amounts to 1200 employees. The other 2800, including members of the cabin crew, will remain unaffected.

The exercise will be carried out at three levels. The first grade (Levels 4&5) will take 3 days' leave without pay, the next grade level (Levels 2&3) will take two days' leave without pay and then the third grade ( Level 1C) will have to take a day off with no pay reported PTI.

In India, the number of COVID-19 cases soared past 12000 with close to 400 deaths. The prolonged suspension of operations has left the airline industry strangled.

Thng also said that the airline will resume operations in a phased manner as soon as the government allows it to do so.

"For the initial period, we may not be able to fully restore our suspended network and therefore our financials will continue to be adversely impacted. We must continue our focus on cutting expenditures, including continuing some of the measures that we have implemented in April," The Economic Times quoted Thng as saying.

Also Read: Government Issues Fresh Guidelines To Combat Pandemic During Lockdown 2.0