Shunting out is painful

By O J George

Can we perceive the audacity with which employers are sacking employees, in the name of liberalisation and privatization? Jet Airways is dispensing with the services of nearly 2000 personnel, saying it has not been flying profitable services. What a pity? Did they not think about the prospects of the company when they drafted the workers? Where were their internal and external auditors prospecting the functioning?

Earlier, we had seen merger of Jet Airways and another one. Now Jet is hobnobbing with Kingfisher. Don’t know whether the firing is the result of underhand negotiations.

One day a low-cost, no fringe airline will come up, offering the moon to the passengers. After some time, it will merge with the likes of Kingfisher, sucking massive profits.

When sacking employees, do any of the flamboyant employer and his household dispense with any kind of luxury?

And where is the so-called government? In no capitalistic, liberalised developed country, companies are allowed to get away with windfall profits. Here in India, which is opening up its markets and allowing companies to have a free go, no restriction is placed on them from eating away windfall profits. Mukesh and Anil Ambanis, Tatas, Birlas, and all sorts of mega institutions are eating away windfall profits at the expense of the poor man on the street. Not in US, UK, France, Germany, Japan and the like, such practices would be allowed.

Why not tax the companies, institutions, and quick-buck-making entities to service the social sector. This is too much. The nonsensical explanation is that nearly 2000 workers are axed to save the job of 1000 persons. What a mess of an economy we are living.