The 18 pilots and co-pilots of Air Mauritius, who were under the threat of dismissal, will not be dismissed after all. There was an agreement late in the evening of Friday, August 6, between the administrators of Air Mauritius, Sattar Hajee Abdoula and Arvind Singh K. Gokhool and Mr. Gavin Glover, the lawyer of the pilots. When the case was called on Saturday before the Redundancy Board, chaired by Rashid Hossen, the administrators stated that they had reached an agreement to withdraw the case before the RB. The agreement states that the pilots agree to be placed on ‘leave without pay’ for a maximum period of five years from September 1, 2021. This means that they will not be dismissed.
Under this agreement, Air Mauritius will call the pilots to return to duty in the event that operations resume during this period. The pilots will be recalled in order of seniority and will sign a new contract, which will be governed by the terms and conditions in force within the company at the time they return to service. Their years of service with Air Mauritius will be taken into account.
At the end of the five-year period, the employment contract of those who have not been recalled will be deemed to have been terminated by mutual agreement, without any liability or compensation being due or payable by the company.
“We remain firmly committed to restructuring MK to enable it to make its valuable contribution to the economy. Our agreement follows the inevitable sale of the A319 and A340 aircraft due to overstaffing at this stage. For us, the objective is to reduce operating costs. We are also aware that this is a difficult period for Air Mauritius employees and their families. We have held frank negotiations with MALPA to reach this agreement. We are grateful to the union for demonstrating its willingness to work together,” said the Air Mauritius directors.
Alexandre Marot, of the Mauritius Airline Pilote Association, said that the 18 pilots will be recalled to return to service in order of seniority as soon as the need arises and they will then align themselves with the conditions of employment that will exist at that time. This is in the knowledge that MK has agreed not to recruit any external pilots in order to ensure that these 18 pilots return to service on a priority basis.
The Mauritius Airline Pilote Association is grateful for the opportunity to have an open and frank discussion with the directors to reach this agreement.
