Dispute arises about IAS bonus distribution

Island Aviation Services (IAS) has distributed a huge amount of money as bonus to its current staff out of the profit for the year 2010, whilst excluding those of the company staff who have been transferred to GMR during this year, giving rise to complaints from transferred staff.

Nearly 250 staff of IAS had been transferred to GMR, which had taken over the running of Malé International Airport and also a number of tasks previously contracted to IAS, such as the highly profitable cargo and luggage handling. Many staff were transferred after the beginning of this year.

Staff who had been transferred to GMR have complained, saying that any bonus out of the profit for the year 2010, and to be paid for the year 2010 should include those transferred staff who had been employees of IAS until the end of the year.

IAS Manager Administration, Ali Nashat said today that the company board had decided to grant bonus to staff who had worked for the full year 2010. However, he declined to give any details about granting bonus saying that it was against the company policy.

A staff who was transferred from IAS to GMR towards the end of last year told Sun, on condition of anonymity, that the manner in which bonus for the year 2010 was distributed to staff was not at all acceptable. “During the years 2008 and 2009, they refused to grant bonus saying that they had to buy a new plane. When we were transferred, we were not given any choice, we were just packed and sent to GMR”, he said. He said the company had now taken an arbitrary decision to grant bonus to its own selected persons, and that this was not fair.

Another staff claimed that not a single staff who had been transferred to GMR had been included in the bonus list this year. “I know one who worked for full year during 2010, and until July this year and was then transferred to GMR. He was not given the bonus”, he said.

According to reports, some staff had received bonus amounting to as much as MRF100,000.