SpiceJet reinstates 60 employees after HC direction

The affidavit stated the airline was willing to offer employment to 60 members mentioned in the list of employees and they could join services from April 1, 2022.

Mumbai: Private carrier SpiceJet has reinstated 60 of the 463 employees who were laid off following the expiry of their contracts on December 31, 2021. The airline had approached the Bombay high court challenging an industrial court order which had directed it to reinstate all the employees as their contracts were ongoing and were not limited by time. The HC, however, upheld the industrial court order and directed the airline to reinstate the employees.

The tribunal had directed the airline to provide employment to the 463 employees affiliated with the association. (HT FILE PHOTO)

On March 23, the single judge bench of justice A S Gadkari while hearing the petition filed by the Chairman & Managing Director of Spice Jet Ltd and another was informed by advocates Kiran Bapat and Niraj Prajapati that as per the January 19 directions of the HC an affidavit had been filed enumerating the list of employees who could join services from April 1.

The court had on January 19 said, “It would be appropriate for the petitioner management to tender a list of their workmen, who have been termed as fixed-term contractual employees, who can be offered work today.”

The affidavit stated the airline was willing to offer employment to 60 members mentioned in the list of employees and they could join services from April 1, 2022. There is no clarity on the fate of the remaining 403 employees as yet.

The bench accepted the same and noted, “The aforesaid arrangement is in compliance with the Order dated 19th January 2022. It is needless to mention that, the joining of work by the said employees of Respondent-Union would be subject to the final outcome of the present Petition.”

The airline had approached the HC challenging the January 10 order of the Central Government Industrial Tribunal-2 (CGIT) wherein it had stated “...prima facie case is in favour of 463 workers” and as there were no allegations of misconduct as per the Industrial Dispute Act (IDA) against any of the 463 members, hence, the company should employ them as an interim arrangement.

The tribunal had upheld the arguments of the India Spicejet Staff and Employees Association who were represented by advocate Jaiprakash Sawant that as the employees had been in service for 8-9 years on fixed-term contracts of 24 months each and there was no complaint against any of them, the airline could not apply section 2(oo)(bb) of the IDA, 1947 and refuse to renew their contracts.

The said section deals with retrenchment wherein “the employer terminate the service of a workman for any reason whatsoever, otherwise than as a punishment inflicted by way of disciplinary action but does not include - termination of the service of the workman as a result of the non-renewal of the contract of employment between the employer and the workman concerned on its expiry or of such contract being terminated under a stipulation on that behalf contained therein.”

The tribunal had directed the airline to provide employment to the 463 employees affiliated with the association. Aggrieved by the order the airline had challenged in the interim order in the HC. However, the HC had upheld the order of the CGIT and on January 19 asked the airline to submit a list of employees who they could offer employment.

The court has now posted the hearing of the petition to April 12 for reporting on compliance on the part of the airline.