Qatar CEO: I don’t give a damn

BANGKOK The head of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, says the United Nations’ International Labor Organisation is pursuing a vendetta against his airline.
He was quoted by Al Arabiya News, late last month, in a response to an ILO report urging Qatar Airways to scrap a controversial clause in its employment contracts that allows it to sack cabin crew for falling pregnant.
ILO also called on Qatar Airways to review a ban on female cabin crew being escorted to work by men other than their husband, brother or a male close relative.
An outspoken and often abrasive, Akbar Al Baker said the ILO was pursuing a “vendetta” against both the airline and Qatar as a whole.
inside no 5 Akbar Al Baker
Akbar Al Baker
He was also quoted by Reuters saying: “I don’t give a damn about the ILO – I am there to run a successful airline.”
“This is evidence of a vendetta they have against Qatar Airways and my country. My country has responded to the ILO accusations in a very robust way. We clarified the clauses in our contract,” he added.
Qatar Airways introduced new contracts, last December, which dropped a requirement that employees seek permission from the airline before getting married, according to the ILO. The airline also says expectant mothers can apply for ground-based jobs rather than becoming redundant.
Yet the contract term that allows the airline to sack pregnant cabin crew remains, according to the ILO.
Qatar Airways says the clause is justified, claiming expectant mothers are not physically fit to fly and are not able to meet job requirements, it was reported.
Qatar Airways was not quoted directly by the Al Arabiya News report.
However, it interviewed Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research, who said agreed that the airline was being “singled out” by the ILO.
“It’s no surprise that Qatar Airways dismisses this report, especially since the carrier has made efforts to change contracts and working practices,” Ahmad told Al Arabiya News.
inside no 5.1“There are plenty of other industries where the ILO fails to make an impact, so its pursuit of Qatar Airways is perhaps short-sighted and misguided,” he added.
“Ultimately, Qatar Airways has to be allowed to enact staff contracts that benefit the business and the employee… both sides need the other and the ILO should be facilitating that instead of taking the easy route of finger-pointing.”
Al Baker is known for his blunt remarks.
Speaking to CNN last February, he said claims that the airline’s flight attendants were sacked if they got married were a “load of bull****.”
Al Baker told the news network that claims, first made by the International Transport Workers’ Federation in 2013, were untrue – adding that his company’s employment practices were “very progressive”.
Qatar Airways is also embroiled in a war of words with three US carriers over claims that it has received billions of dollars in unfair government subsidies.
American Airlines, United and Delta claim that Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad have collectively received government subsidies amounting to USD42 billion over 10 years. The Gulf airlines strenuously deny such claims.

sourced:ttrweekly.com