3,000 expat Jet Air crew still in limbo after 5 years over unpaid salaries, PF

My salary for the period between January 2019 and March, 2019 was not paid to me and also my PF deducted from the account from March, 2019 onward were not deposited by the company nor did the EPFO did assess and recover the amount or claim the amount from the employer, Captain Low Kock Yong, Malaysia citizen, tells Bizz Buzz

It is more than five years now since Jet Airways planes were grounded. Still, the woes of the expat pilots and a host of other crew members, numbering more than 3,000, who were flying the planes of the airline overseas from Indian soil continue to haunt them.

As per an estimate, the airliner has got the liability of Rs1,000 crore in the form of provident fund (PF) and salary for those expat pilots and crew members alone.

The airliner was having offices in around 35 countries including USA, Hong Kong, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi, Canada, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Damman, Saudi, Amsterdam, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Bangkok, Oman and Sharzah.

Later, Jet Airways went into the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for an ownership change.

The monthly salary of an expat pilot is normally Rs10 lakh or more. Hence, the PF deduction, including 12 per cent each by the employer and employee, stands at Rs 2.4 lakh per month on an average. Expat pilots are hired to fly overseas bound jumbo planes as they are having the expertise to use a particular angle for taking off or landing the aircraft.

Take the example of one such expat pilots who is a Malaysian citizen, Captain Low Kock Yong, who had worked with Jet Airways between January 2014 and March 2019. Also, he is an international worker covered under EPF.

His PF contribution is shown from 2015 and his last 2019 PF was not deposited by the airliner. The claim made by Yong in this connection before the interim resolution professional way back in July, 2019 amounts to around Rs 42 lakh.

Talking to Bizz Buzz, Yong says: “My salary for the period between January 2019 and March, 2019 was not paid to me and also my PF deducted from the account from March, 2019 onward were not deposited by the company nor did the EPFO did assess and recover the amount or claim the amount from the employer.”

Besides, the employer was supposed to give us a notice period of 3 months according to contract, which didn’t happen.

This has put Yong and a group of expat pilots like him in financial loss and he strongly believes that complaint against the concern should be registered and our hard-earned money may be recovered and deposited to their bank account. They have insisted for strict action against the company and the erring official of the PF department too for putting them in financial losses.

Yong has written multiple letters to various government departments since March 2019 in his bid to claim his entire PF or pending salary, but to no avail.

Eusebio Martinez Campos, Boeing 737 captain, is another ex-Jet Airways’ expat pilot who had joined Jet Airlines on January 5, 2014.

Like Yong, Eusebio is also an international worker covered with the EPF account. He has also not been able to access his PF account to check the exact amount and dates that Jet Airways have deposited the same.

“I suspect my PF contribution, as shown on my payslip, was not properly deposited by the company,” rues Eusebio.

According to Eusebio, “my salary for the period of 6 months (between October 2018 and March 2019) was not paid to me. In our contract, three month notice period have not been paid.”

Similar is the case with Patrick Celler, who was working with Jet Airways as a senior commander line training on ATR 72 Fleet since August 1, 2005, until June 23, 2018.

However, EPFO officials have clarified that the expat pilots’ PF contribution has already been made by the employer until February 2019 and thus the airliner was having the liability for four months (March-June 2019) only.

Replying to Yong’s complaints, EPFO said in a statement: “As per your mail received, you have informed that you have worked with Jet Airways as from 18/01/2014 to 31/03/2019 and as per your appointment letter, your date of joining is 09/02/2013. On verifying the office records, it is observed that your contribution has already been remitted by the establishment upto 02/2019. This office has forwarded a letter to the IRP regarding clarification of non-remittance of EPF dues of International workers from March 2019 to June 2019 (date of liquidation).”

The EPFO advised Yong to take up the matter of non-disbursement of his salary from the January 2019, February 2019 and March 2019 and non-issue of prior notice by the employer with the concerned Labour Department concerned.