Two former commercial airline operator aircraft technicians were laid off during the COVID-19 outbreak, and the Labor Court has ordered AirAsia to pay them over RM110,000 in retrenchment payments.
Hasrulnizam Nopen will receive RM51,391.44 and Ahmad Abu Bakar RM57,808.90 as termination benefits from AirAsia X Bhd. This is according to an order issued by Nor Fathiyah Mohd Yassin, manpower department director-general, on April 2.
Suppose the defendant fails to make the payment within the allotted 31 days. In that scenario, interest will be at a rate of 8% per year.
Ahmad’s service ended on January 20, 2021. In contrast, Hasrulnizam’s ended on June 7, 2020, due to the grounded plane because of the pandemic.
Their company declined to provide layoff benefits since their monthly base pay and allowances exceeded RM5,000.
Based on the Employment (Termination and Layoff Benefits) Regulations 1980, the company said workers are only eligible for benefits if their monthly salary is RM2,000 or less.
Ahmad and Hasrulnizam complained to the department in 2022.
The court acknowledged that the claimants, who were aircraft technicians, deserve the retrenchment compensation as specified by the Employment Act and its rules, according to attorney Premjit Singh, who was representing the two men.
With Surekaa Santhiran’s help, Premjit claimed that even though their combined salaries and benefits exceeded RM2,000, the nature and extent of their jobs qualified them for layoff compensation.
“They were engaged in the operation or maintenance of mechanically propelled vehicles for transporting goods or passengers,” he told Free Malaysia Today.
The firm has appealed the Labour Court’s ruling to the High Court.
AirAsia X’s attorneys, Wendy Lam and Wong Jia Ee made an appearance.
