IndiGo To Pay Full Salary To Staff, Top Executives Agree To Take Pay Cut Due To COVID-19 Crisis
The aviation industry among the worst affected due to the COVID-19 and the lockdowns across the world.Several airlines across the world had asked its employees to take unpaid leaves until further notice or have reduced the salary of its staff.?
In India too airlines have done the same as they struggle to survive.?
But in a surprise move IndiGo, India¡¯s largest airline has announced that it has reversed the pay cut of up to 25% announced earlier and all its employees will get their full salary for the month of April.?
However, top level employees have volunteered to take a pay cut and will forego their salaries till the situation improves.?
¡°Let us now turn our attention to the immediate issue of April pay. In deference to our Government¡¯s wishes of not reducing pay during the lockdown, we have decided not to implement the previously announced pay cuts during the month of April. However, your Excom (executive committee) members and SVPs (senior vice presidents) have volunteered to take pay cuts this month. For everyone else, you can expect your April salaries to be paid without the pay cuts,¡± read an email to its employees from its CEO Rono Dutta.?
In an email last month, IndiGo had announced a pay cut of up to 25% from April 1. While other executives above the senior vice president level would take cuts of 20%; vice presidents and pilots would take a 15% cut, while others including cabin crew would take a 5%-10% deductions.
Following IndiGo¡¯s announcement, other airlines had also announced pay cuts. SpiceJet had announced a 30 percent pay cut for March. GoAir had also done the same for all its employees. Vistara had asked its top management to go on leave without pay for a few days in April.?
Airlines, which are grounded since the lockdown announced by the government to control the spread of coronavirus, have been under financial stress since they are not operating flights.?
Earlier, IndiGo had announced that it is going to resume limited flight operations from May 4. Air India had even opened bookings for selected routes from the same date.However, Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had clarified that the government had not taken any decision on flight resumption and advised airlines to open bookings only after that.?
Air Deccan, a regional carrier have already announced that it is seizing operations due to the financial crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.??
