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Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has issued 30 showcause letters against members of the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) for allegedly taking part in a gathering at the Human Resources Ministry on Nov 27, 2013.
The letters issued on Feb 14 states that the members had “acted in manner inconsistent with (their) implied and/or expressed duties” in the national airline.
The members will need to submit a “satisfactory” written explanation by Friday or face disciplinary action, the letter signed by human resources officer Nor Azuan Ismail read.
According to Nufam, among those who issued the showcause letter was Nufam secretary-general Mohd Akram Osman.
This follows the Jan 14 reinstatement of nine out of 10 flight attendants for allegedly making anti-MAS statements in a closed Facebook forum.
Union representative Farahtina Kassim has yet to be released from suspension.
Members had gathered at the Human Resources Ministry in Putrajaya on Nov 27 to hand over a memorandum to the minister over union matters.
‘Union busting’
Slamming the recent action in a statement, Nufam said that MAS is yet again engaging in “union busting”.
“(Nufam) wants immediate intervention by the Human Resources Ministry who have been informed of this matter today.
“What MAS is doing now is actually causing more damage than good and… causing industrial disharmony,” it said.
In response, MAS said it is not engaging in “union busting”, and that its actions are within the ambit of the Industrial Relations Act.
It added that it has the right to take disciplinary action against employees whose conduct have been inconsistent with his or her duties.
“Any disciplinary action will be taken once all evidences are gathered and the decision achieved is confidential in nature as it is between MAS and the employee concerned,” it said in a statement to Malaysiakini.
On Nov 29, Nufam chief and chief steward Ismail Nasaruddin was sacked for allegedly calling for MAS chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya’s (left) sacking.
Ismail made the call in an article published by SunBiz over MAS’ alleged failure to attend to flight attendant welfare.
Nufam had threatened a “walkout” over Ismail’s sacking last month, but postponed it “due to the consideration given, and requests by its members who want more time to negotiate with MAS”.
Nufam was formed in January 2012 to represent flight attendants, and is demanding that collective agreements be conducted through Nufam and not the Malaysia Airlines Employers Union (Maseu).
Source: Malaysiakini
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