MALAYSIA Airlines is being threatened with what the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) refers to as a œtools down protest, effectively a strike, if the company does not revoke the separation scheme on the table in 48 hours, the countdown having begun yesterday. The carrier, which is a company that is technically bankrupt, has laid off all its 20,000 employees. Of the total, 6,000 have not been offered re-employment with the new entity, Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB). What Nufam wants is for all axed employees to be rehired and, then, offered a voluntary separation scheme (VSS), the common practice of commercial organisations that are sizing down. Nufam, however, despite being a recognised trade union representing flight attendants generally, is not recognised by the carrier and, presumably, this policy is being carried over into MAB.
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