The Top Court of Nepal has issued an interim order directing the Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to not engage in discriminatory practices regarding perks and facilities for its cabin crew.
Cabin crews of Nepal Airline Corporation had approached the Supreme Court demanding justice, saying there is injustice and insecurity in their profession.
On 3rd January , 135 people, including senior flight attendant Prajita Karki said that 135 people collectively submitted a writ petition in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
In the writ, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Nepal Airlines Corporation had been made opponents.
However, in the decision rendered today by a single bench led by Judge Til Prasad Shrestha, the NAC management has been asked not to take any actions leading to discrimination against cabin crew in the allocation of facilities.
In the writ petition by the cabin crews, it was mentioned that according to the provision in the law regarding the service and conditions of the employees of Nepal Airlines Corporation, flight attendants and flight hostesses are treated differently from other employees and are treated as second class employees.
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For maintaining the retirement age of the employees at 58 years, the provisions such as retirement at 40 years for flight attendants and air hostesses, the ability to remove any grievances by paying one month's salary, retirement with a contract for the duration of service and not giving gratuity have been demanded.
Senior advocates, including Dr. Chandrakant Gyawali, Ananta Raj Luintel, Kirtinath Sharma Poudel, Leeladhar Upadhyay, Pratibha Upreti, and Bishal Thapa, represented the petitioners in court. The order prohibits the NAC from terminating contracts, taking adverse actions, or intervening in facilities for cabin crew based on their appointment status.
The cabin crew alleges that the NAC has implemented discriminatory policies against them, treating them as second-class individuals in violation of the law.
They claimed that they have been working in the same position all their lives and have never been removed without any benefits and no social security has been dealt with.
Their complaint was that even a normal company should ensure social service security, and the Nepal Government-owned Airline Corporation has seriously discriminated against its cabin crew.
They said that they had to file a writ petition in the Supreme Court because they did not proceed with the improvement process even when they raised the matter with the management several times.
Other employees receive disability allowance when they were disabled due to plane crash. But the flight attendants and air hostesses do not get it, the promotion of the pilots is manual but they are not promoted, and there is also discrimination in medical treatment, so the flight attendants and air hostesses have filed a writ demanding justice, informed lawyer Anantaraj Luintel.
