KUALA LUMPUR: The Labour Court has ordered a commercial airline company to disburse approximately RM110,000 in retrenchment benefits to two former aircraft technicians who were laid off amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
FMT reported that according to an order issued on April 2, Manpower Department director-general Nor Fathiyah Mohd Yassin said AiraAsia X Bhd is obligated to compensate Hasrulnizam Nopen with RM51,391.44 and Ahmad Abu Bakar with RM57,808.90 as part of their termination benefits.
The ruling stipulates that the defendant will be subject to an 8 per cent per annum interest charge if the payment is not made within 31 days of the order.
Hasrulnizam's employment was terminated on June 7, 2020, while Ahmad's was terminated on Jan 20, 2021, due to the grounding of planes amid the pandemic.
Their employer refused to pay retrenchment benefits because their monthly basic salaries and allowances were more than RM5,000.
The employer took the position that one is only entitled to compensation under the Employment (Termination and Lay-Off Benefit) Regulations 1980 if their monthly wage is RM2,000 and below.
Hasrulnizam and Ahmad lodged their complaints with the department in 2022.
Representing the technicians, lawyer Premjit Singh asserted that their roles as aircraft technicians inherently qualified them for retrenchment benefits as per the Employment Act and its regulations, despite their earnings exceeding RM2,000.
"They were engaged in the operation or maintenance of mechanically propelled vehicles for the transport of goods or passengers," he said.
The company has filed an appeal at the High Court against the Labour Court's decision.
Lawyers Wendy Lam and Wong Jia Ee appeared for AirAsia X.
