What happened to Elena?

This is the e-mail I’ve got yesterday worth of public and relevant authorities’ attention.

Dear,

I am also former Emirates crew. I had a pleasure to fly with Elena (the girl that was fall from emirates aircraft 2 days ago) couple of times and also we were meeting usually in costa for smoking every couple of weeks. She was one of the best people i have met in dubai. We talk a lot about her life , family and work. She was a strong woman. She was not taking bullshit from anyone. She was following the rules and regulations of the company because she like it and didn’t want to apologize for anything. She wanted to be purser one day. But even though she have been in the company for 21 years she was still SFS. As she told me they were considering her as too old and they wanted younger people for this role. This woman she was in Dubai sooo long doing her job that she really loved. And thats how they treat her. They haven’t make any investigation. In one hour and a half i consider that is not enough time for this, and they took off with the crew that just witness what happened They just didn’t want to leave the customers or the crew there to talk with any one. My question is did she suicide ? Did she fall ? Or was she pushed? As customers told they heard the crew arguing. What happened? .how can she open the 777 door with one hand and push it and fall if the media mention that she had in one hand a glass bottle.
She didn’t deserve this. She was a strong independent respectful woman.
Please get to the bottom of this.
Use your connections. Do what you can.
Best regards
…

 

The glamorous life of Emirates cabin crew: sleeping on the airport floor

This is an e-mail I’ve got a few days ago. I will let you draw the conclusion about safety, EK’s organizational culture and fatigue. I will also let you wonder where the pilot and co-pilot slept that night.

Hello,

Thank you for your blog. Emiarets is a terrible companyy to work for.

Please, do not display my email address or my name…..

This is a picture of Emirates Airline Crew sleeping on the floor. The JFK airport was closed and the company asked us to leave our hotel and go to the airport anyway and wait on the airbridge until they open the airport…..

The fact was that the airport was closed because of the heavy snow and we had to wait on the floor for several hours, more than 6hours…… We could not even use the

emirates lounge at the jfk airport. They told us to wait at the airbridge.

.

.

Goodbye Anoma Manuel, you will not be missed

For those who don’t follow this blog from the beginning, everything has begun with now former Divisional Vice President Anoma Manuel and her ruthless behaviour towards Airport Services employees and myself, recorded on tape.

I felt harassed by her and I even filed a complaint to HR Manager Sophia Panayiotou. Sophia never responded to this complaint but she was fired by Emirates soon after my blog post about her, along with several other managers.

 
This time, Anoma Manuel “is leaving” the company. I will not speculate if she was “forced to resign” (a popular term in Emirates) or she resigned for some other reason as I don’t care. The damage to the employees and the company is already done. And  although I have a huge respect towards women who manage to succeed in a men’s world, I don’t have any respect for Anoma Manuel. She was insensitive and incompetent manager who has offended and bullied many people, who ruled by fear and who violated many policies of the company she worked for.

Goodbye Anoma Manuel. You will not be missed.

 

Emirates management tried to force a pregnant crew to an illegal abortion

We all know that women live harder lives. Their rate of unemployment is higher and they are less paid than their male colleagues globally. In some parts of the world they are still treated like second-class citizens without many basic human rights. This article is dedicated to all the women throughout the world who suffer just for being women.
This is the story about an Emirates cabin crew who found herself pregnant while working for Emirates Airline (EK). Apparently, EK management tried to force her to do an illegal abortion and searched for her in her apartment when she refused to do it.

E-mail from the crew

Hi !
I’ve just discovered your blog and I’ve found it very interesting. Thanks for taking the time to share this. As a former Ek cabin crew I can testify of what you are describing and I’d like to share my personal experience as well as asking your help on a matter I’m really concerned about..
I’ve been hired by Emirates airlines on xxx 20xx and everything went well at first, no paperwork to do, they basically convice you that you are in the best place on earth, that you have to advertise and show that Emirates crew is living the best life, enjoying, partying, discounts everywhere and so on… I’ve found it quite superficial and not as professional as a cabin crew position would be somewhere else with the importance of safety, security and you’re real role on board. I was disturbed by the company accomodation system, the curfew, having to ask before receiving family but I loved the job and didn’t think more about it at first. I’ve been dating another crew that I met right after I got in Dubai and in xxx 20xx (a year after I joined) I discovered I got pregnant… Please don’t judge me, I know how it works, I was careful and I never thought this could happen to me. I was actually very judgemental on this matter before it happened to me.

The nightmare started at this point. As you know it’s illegal to be pregnant without being married in the UAE so besides having to take the toughest decisions of my life regarding keeping it or not, I had to deal with what happened. I had 2 days of duty then 3 days off, I swapped the 2 days in order to have 5 days off in a row to go back to France and deal with the situation properly, without affecting my work. I’ve been even told that they give emergency leave on this type of situation, I guess I got the wrong doctor, wrong manager and bad luck..  I went to see the company doctor, big mistake since the information went straight away to my manager. The doctor told me that I shouldn’t go to france and got me in touch with a doctor who was illegally doing abortion in Dubai outside the hospital he worked in… That scared me and I kept telling her that there was no reason for me not going to France and coming back to work but she insisted and that seemed crazy to me, I felt like an outlaw (which I was as crazy as it seems…) and I was scared to undergo and abortion, by a doctor I don’t know, hidden god knows where and how.. Having to take the decision of aborting was hard enough for me. By the time I almost reached my accomodation my roomate called me to tell me that security entered my appartment and my room and seemed to be looking for something… I got even more scared, I was on a day off, it was supposed to be my home but it was never mine but the company’s.. I even thought they might have been looking for my passport maybe, I have no idea but my feelings were a mix between depression, hormones, fear and anger. All I wanted was to go home in France and deal with the diffucult thing I had to to.

I packed my suitcase, 2 of my batchmates and best friends were with me and one of them thought that security might have had the order to keep and eye on me and it might not have been a good idea to pass by them with my luggage. So she put on her uniform and passed on the lobby with my suitcase and I left the building after her. I was scared that my staff tickets could be blocked, to end up in jail or some crazy things that seem straight out of a movie, except it was real. Everything went well, I arrived in France and I exploded in tears and depression, as much as I loved the job I just couldn’t go back to Dubai. When I landed my flatmate called me to tell me that security went through my appartment again and asked her several time aggressively where I was and if I left the country. That was enough, I sent and email to my manager saying I resigned without the notice periode, that the uniform and most of the documents would be given to them by my flatmate and that I would pay for the rest. He responded that they decided to terminate my contract so officially, I’ve been fired.

It felt blurry and like a bad dream in my head, I had a breakdown, I still live it as a major failure, I feel guilty about everything and and it took me time not to blame me hardly about the pregnancy and all it caused. In a normal country and normal company you deal with your personnal issues on your days off, outside of your work environment, and it’s no one’s concern but yours. One is not supposed to have his appartment checked on request of his manager. I’m not entirely to blame on this and I decided not to give up on my passion of flying, I was good at it, I had great feedbacks from SFSs, and passengers, and I won’t let them take this from me.

I’ve just obtained the european Cabin Crew Attestation and I’m medically fit to fly so I’m really happy but now that it’s time to apply I’m afraid of mentioning I worked for Emirates. I don’t want to lie, pretend I’ve never flown and make up another job to fill the blank but I don’t know if Ek give feedback on former employees, if they’re in relation with other airlines for references checks etc.. so I’m asking for your advice on this.

It’s a long email, thanks again for your work and for taking the time, it means a lot to me and a lot of people I’m sure.
Have a wonderful year !

My story from Emirates Airline Hell

“ This is my story in brief that shows how Emirates Airline HR has dealt with it from dishonouring “their” agreement that was signed on the contract hoping that I would get some support in filing a legal case in a country other than UAE. Such influenced individuals or managers or even senior staff have distorted the Bright image of Emirates Airline by bullying, mobbing and even playing with the company rules to meet their needs supported by HR. I’ve tried to reach some decision makers since 2010 with a help from inside and outside the company in order to draw attention on their illegal actions as same become part of each day activities however, they reached managers before me and briefing them with wrong information!

I did my utmost during my life in EK by working hard as I have more than 17 awards and compliments from the company and passengers (many for my own projects) including EK highest accolade as I have received the Chairman Award from HH in 2005 for saving a life of a passenger after his heart had stopped during transit. I had registered “Exceptional” on my PM for 3 continuous years and I have a great relation with all staff including seniors that developed to friendship. I wasn’t given or called for any “disciplinary” meetings except a single Memo on March 12^th 2008 when my line manager Mr Patrick D. has done a marvelous job in changing facts supported by his officer to send me a message that I should be loyal to him.

My ex-line manager Mr Patrick D. was a perfect example for violating the “HUMANITY” rules not only the company rules, I don’t know his previous experience but, all what I know that he had joined DNATA in 1991 as a “normal” staff and had moved the chain till he was selected as ASM for Doha station. At that time, EK was almost 10 years old and there were only certain numbers of staff as the possibility of getting promoted was higher than today. He was called back to Dubai after many complaints against his strategy of running the work at Doha station. Mr Patrick had worked hard on making friends especially with influenced managers as this was his only and last card to play with when facing problems. In Dubai, he wasn’t welcomed back to DNATA as it had enough from him so, he used his “only card” to be saved from a definite termination….he was attached with one of the best manager in EKAS hoping that he would change (including attitude and behavior) and begin a positive creative new life but, he was cunning like a fox!! He was transferred to the ramp and baggage area-EBRS under Mrs Anoma leadership based on the positive feedback from that manager. Mrs Anoma in turn had taken a good care in “rehabilitating” him as a manager, no wonder he is well known of “Anoma’s son” till this moment.

Mr Patrick was very smart in knowing staff not for their achievements but, who stands behind them, he used to take good care of the local staff and building a good friendly relations with them, he was supporting only his loyal staff and distributed them in every shift to know what was happening behind his back other than work issues, what they were thinking /talking about him, a detailed “briefing” would be prepared every day before he comes to work by his senior loyal staff that are called till this very moment “Patrick Boys”.

I wasn’t welcomed by him at EBRS department thinking that I would act as “Spy” as I was against his strategy at work, he used to brief everyone including the DVP that I didn’t want to join EBRS and I prefer to stay where I was at that time!!! He had worked on many things to make me just run away from the department briefing all that I wasn’t enjoying my work at EBRS and for that, I shouldn’t be believed of whatever I say!!

In my whole life at EBRS, neither me nor any one of my colleagues have learned anything from him, he never showed us how to solve or how to anticipate problems before they arise, he never asked or listened to staff on how we can improve EBRS services….all what he showed us was the “other side” of managers i.e. giving “unjustified” warnings and memos!! I just can’t forget when one day, he called me to his office and got amazed when I saw Ms H. Al A. (HR Manager) there, he began to create some stories from his imagination about me and that all staff including managers were complaining about me!! The worst part was, Ms H. HR was supporting his wrong claims and then she said “All expatriates are saying the same thing when they are in troubles, if they found a decent job at their own country, they wouldn’t be here!!” then I looked at her and said: “First, I am not in trouble; second, the HR has set a special protocol before reaching a Hearing “not like this”: third, what do you mean by Expatriates? Mr. Clark is expatriate, Mr. Morris Flanagan is expatriate, Mr. Dale Griffith is expatriate, the manager here (Patrick) is expatriate too….most of the expatriates are working hard to add more success to EK.” This was EK HR representative who supposed to investigate and support the staff but it seems, HR will put heads down for managers.

Patrick did not share any plan(s) with any staff asking them for optimum opinion in fact, he would ignore any “feedback” concerning ideas or projects as he would go for what is in his head or (of course) his seniors. For example, 7 years ago EBRS management have allocated luggage carousel for the premium passengers however, this turned out on the staff with different scenarios of harassments from passengers and Patrick didn’t show any interest to listen and/or reply on staff emails to enhance this service as one time he called me to say “You are a supervisor…just be a supervisor, we don’t want anything else from you…no ideas…no projects…this is a message from the DVP”!! EBRS had continued with the plan until it was stopped (with immediate effect) by Mr. Tim Clark When he called SVP Mr. M Mattar for that on September 2009!!

On an “opening” for a new post “EBRS Duty Officers-Grade 7” and just after the assessment, Patrick came out of the lounge to tell me to look for the grade in other department as they have already chosen the suitable staff even though, this was against the company rules as 2 more groups were coming after we finish our assessment besides, the interview still didn’t assign yet!!! He said, I am the Decision Maker here!!! And yes…managers can play up and down with the rules supported by HR.

I am not the only one who suffered from his “sadist games” there are a lot of staff who tasted his pain, many good staff had received rejection to their application for higher grades from him without a valid reason set as per HR or even just “destroy” their hopes by unjustified Warnings and memos.

Speaking about the “unjustified” warnings that Patrick used to give EBRS staff without notice as per the rules and regulations, once my shift manager Ms Lynelle Adkins had asked me something about my PM, she said “I didn’t know that you have a recent warning”, I said I don’t have a warning….it was a Memo longtime back and it is not in the system anymore!!, she turned the screen toward me and said look! There was a warning issued about a week ago by the Line Manager Patrick D…Amazingly, it was the same my old Memo text but, with current date!!! There is a protocol for issuing warnings set by HR so basically, he can put whatever on my system without discussing same with me as per the rules!! I was disappointed and couldn’t think anymore…I heard some strange voices but, I opened my eyes to find myself on the stretcher and rushed to Rashid Hospital by Airport Medical Team after I collapsed with sever seizure!!!

It was Friday Feb 26^th 2010 I will remember that date for the rest of my life. Doctors had done CT scan but, they wanted to go for MRI as the checks were insufficient to determine the reason for the sever seizure anyways, hospital staff asked me to arrange initially 10,000 AED as my Governmental Health card, my EK health insurance even my “emergency” case didn’t save me from continuing my medical checks in a public hospital! I had to wait for many hours for EK to arrange the required money as every 10-15 minutes a nurse would come and ask me for the same however, after 6 hours of waiting, I had signed on the self discharge form and I left the hospital.

I couldn’t do the MRI scan in private hospitals that honor my EK insurance as I have to wait for EK to send them the approval form. During that period, I had another 3 seizure attacks that ended each time in a different hospital however, I had a meeting with Mr Ashley F. EKAS HR in order to submit a huge complaint against my manager Mr Patrick D. having my old memo dated March 12, 2008 to compare it with the recent warning on his system as it has the same text, Mr Ashley was so amazed and stupor that he was wondering how did he do that, he took a copy of the memo as he would investigate on that and delete this “unjustified” warning from my file at the same time, he asked for some time and not to tell anyone about this meeting and/or my complaint against Patrick! (Later, I found out that he was protecting Patrick!).

I met Ranjini from EK Medical Benefit Administration (MBA) to follow up as my life without treatment was described as “Unstable”, Ranjini informed me that EK Clinic approved my treatment 2 days ago. At the City Hospital I was examined by Dr Deep Al Kayed (MD, FAAN- US Board certified Neurologist and Clinical Neurophysiologist) however, he didn’t give me a clear definite answer whether it was Anteriovenos Malformation-AVM that caused the Tumor or something else as he said “Most of the AVMs take a quiet long time to be formed however, your case is different as the location (Left thalamic basal Ganglia),  the size of the tumor is very large 3.9 CM in its antero-posterior, 3.8CM in its height and 1.9 CM in its coronal dimension with high pressure on the surrounding structures and with a huge massive Edema that is compressing the cerebral nerves made me say that it was recently formed and maybe this explains why you didn’t suffer from it before”. The hospital suggested starting treatment as soon as possible to prevent further complications and possible death by a professional team in Jordan as doctors there have great experience in treating same. It is good to mention that I had bad scenarios trying to get a CD for my MRI as every staff I asked him, he would come back to me saying once, it is against the policy then, the machine was inoperative…etc!! I had to meet the duty manager for that who had confirmed to me that the hospital gives a CD copy to the patients without even asking however, after about 3 hours of negotiation, they gave me the CD but, I didn’t know that there was a bad story behind hiding it!

Emirates Airline “MBA” had approved my treatment outside UAE (in Jordan) based on the discharge report from the City Hospital, Dubai Hospital and Rashid Hospital. Ranjini had confirmed that the company insurance would be responsible for my treatment and my basic salary (at least) would be deposited in my bank account as usual till the end of my treatment as:

• I had collapsed on duty and transferred to Rashid Hospital by Airport Medical Team.
• MAS (Manager Airport Services) and ASM (Airport Services Manager) had filed an incident report.
• EK Clinic/Doctors had approved my treatment in Jordan according to the medical reports from Rashid, Dubai and the City Hospital however, I wasn’t not invited to see anyone of them or at least, to be examined by EK Doctors.

I went with my colleague to another private Dr to have a second opinion of my MRI examination but, we were shocked when we found out that the City Hospital gave me just a BLANK CD!!  It couldn’t be by mistake as the hospital duty manager gave it to me after a big hassle. I went again there and I met a different duty manager and I made sure to take my own MRI CD after reviewing it, I heard it from there that my employer (HR) was against giving me the CD, I wrongly though because HR/insurance had paid my bill so, the hospital should take their permission first, I DIDN’T KNOW THEY WERE HIDING THAT MY BRAIN HAD BLEEDED (HEMORRAHAGE) AND DUE TO THIS, I WAS UNFIT TO FLY (you can google it) however, the HR wanted me to go home ASAP to close my case from Dubai side and be with HR manager Ashley F. only.

Since I was having some financial commitments with banks (personal loan +credit cards), I called their customer service advising them of the same and that I needed to seek treatment in Jordan as per the medical reports so, I have updated my contacts and my email address.

I was in touch with my employer most of the time as I used to send medical reports the minute I received them, doctors have described my case as critical, rare and serious that needs to be treated ASAP, complications might include another brain bleeding (haemorrhage) and/or stroke which may lead to death. Ashley called me many times offering me some “good offers” if I submitted my resignation as he would consider it as medical termination, he would send some extra “cash” which would help in my treatment as I was the first EKAS to be awarded the Chairman Award, he would authorize the treatment fees till recovery, he would speak and send the banks a letter of my medical termination so that they would activate their insurance to settle down my outstanding of my loan and cards and would follow up with them in order to give me my same outstanding/principle amount as per their insurance policy (Emirates NDB bank is doing that for my loan), he would call my company insurance 24 months basic salary as per contract, my belongings at my apartment at no cost and finally, he would get me back to EK when I finish my treatment however, I refused his offer in so many times.

The MBA had reimbursed my treatment only one time however; they used their own calculations and the sum was “much” less than what the receipts showed. I tried calling them many times after emailing them but, they didn’t reply…Even HR Ashley had ignored my emails after asking me to copy him on the emails. My own basic salary was stopped since May 2010 and in almost every email I send Ashley I used to put him in full picture regarding the heavy costs for my treatment that would stop if –at least-my salary and medical fees were not paid but, he was (some what) referring to this issue as a private issue and I should be responsible for it. I even tried to explain that I was covered by EK medical insurance and I passed the company medical test before I joined EK and all that has formed recently as per my medical reports but unfortunately, EK Clinic and/or HR had judged on that as it was formed since birth. Then why I wasn’t asked to be examined by EK doctors when I had collapsed with seizure on duty? I was on duty when that happened?

Ashley was trying to put a lot of pressure so that I would ask him for termination as once; he gave me 2 options either to send him my doctor contacts or to come to Dubai because EK doctors wanted to examine me to make sure that I am on the right track even though, I was sending my medical reports as soon as I get them and my treatment didn’t finish yet but, traveling to Dubai by plane was against any medical advice in fact, my doctors were amazed from my employer request as I had two recent brain embolizations and I was under condensed Physiotherapy and the worst part, I should pay for everything including my tickets, staying in Dubai…etc the minute I was saving every Dirham for my treatment after EK had stopped my insurance and my salary as authorized by MBA for the 3 above reasons. I sent Ashley my doctor contacts and I told him that I was in favor of coming to Dubai as per EK Doctors request and to finalize my salary and treatment issues with MBA.

A few weeks later, Ashley returned back asking me to come to Dubai as he fixed an appointment with Dr Diane Mclvor on May 30th 2011at 1130AM on his email, he said that EK Dr has called my Dr in Jordan however, it was still not sufficient detail to ascertain my fitness for continued employment!! This is absolutely WRONG because whoever called my doctor was inquiring about my medical progress only and my Dr informed that I was improving (with details) however, my doctors have advised to reconsider 12hours shift as it is hectic and unhealthy and they wrote this on their report that I had sent to HR.

On his email, Ashley wrote that he ran a quick check with immigration and found that a police case was filed by Mashreq Bank with a total sum of 9,500AED, he asked me to settle that amount before coming as police arrest could happen and would cause extreme stress for me!. First, the Immigration Department wouldn’t release some “secure” information to anyone unless he has a written authority from me as this is illegal second, police case was filed because my salary was stopped from being deposited in my account third, this is a private issue however, Ashley went there to file a case against me (Escaping from the employer case No. 372994) as he knew that I have some financial commitment with banks and therefore, the banks would do the same and exclude me from their insurance under “Medical Termination” or”Loss of job due sickness” scheme even getting the same outstanding after settling it. He made sure to answer any call from banks with “We don’t know where he is and we filed a case against him”. If Ashley had any sense of “humanity” its better to ask EK Clinic why EK doctors insisted (as per Ashley) to be examined in Dubai (rather than do it at their approved clinic for Jordan staff in Jordan) when EK Clinic had approved my treatment in Jordan without even seeing me and all the medical reports were sent to them up to date in terms of, what we have done and what is the next step in details. Doctors can’t jeopardize a human life by asking a patient with recent brain operations to fly to Dubai to be examined and they are not going to put me in a plane with a recent hemorrhage that was hidden from me and send me to Jordan for good…This is how EK-HR would do to protect managers and in my case, protecting themselves from being questioned or what they have done regarding my complaint!

I informed my doctors that I wanted to go to Dubai as they knew my company comes first however, on June 3^rd 2011, my Dr sent me a report indicated that my Drs were not in favor of traveling by plane at this stage due to my recent brain operations, recent Haemorrhage and the Edema that is still exists till the moment as they didn’t want to hold any legal responsibility, however, they gave me that decision as I should consider Oxygen (extra bottle) onboard the flight if I decided to go as I MIGHT need it. I sent the report to Ashley as usual to prepare the MEDIF form and send it to EK Clinic then to reservation as I knew from before when I was Public Relation Officer that sick passengers with Oxygen bottle can travel but they have to inform EK prior and fill Medical Form (MEDIF) unfortunately, Ashley had taken this report as a reason to terminate my services even though, it is NOT a valid reason for termination set by company therefore, it is illegal! in fact, there is a legal question here of how could EK Dr wants me to travel to Dubai when I had recent brain operations and passed brain bleeding condition to fly to Dubai just to be examined by this Dr!

Once again, my doctors wrote this in their report so as not to hold any legal responsibility however, they didn’t say that I will be unable to perform my duties as what Ashley wrote in the Medical Termination and made the DVP signed on it!! I even made that clear on June 15^th 2011 when Ashley called me to tell me his decision.

Ashley F. had done great job to make me suffer and taste different pains. Once My Drs thought of sharing my critical case (the blockage in the cerebral brain veins and my cerebral Edema which is still existed at almost the same volume before the operations) with the neurosurgeons and Drs from all over the world who were coming to attend a medical seminar , I have put Ashley in picture through my several calls regarding my appointment on Aug 5th 2011 since middle of June that was almost a month prior, he promised to follow up personally with staff to ensure I receive my OWN dues +EOS before the end of July. Unfortunately, during that period he left to BOM on vacation without leaving a simple hand over to his office staff to send my money eventually, I had to cancel my appointment on Aug 4^th and wasted that great chance….Ashley said on the phone “I am also a human and I needed this vacation to work properly”!! But, probably he forgot that I needed MY money to live safely with no more pain!

Ashley F. had delayed sending my dues on purpose in many times, it took more than 100 days after my medical termination to calculate and send my dues!! I have to mention that Ashley did something to the calculation to my benefit as he changed half day to full day which added few hundred Dirhams to the total so as to tell whoever asked him that he did his best for me but, he excluded me from 2011 yearly bonus (11 weeks) and my company paid tickets even my EOS as he send it to Emirates NDB bank for my loan instead of sending them my medical termination but, he authorized my SRC tickets!!

The amazement of all and after my Medical Termination and after filing a case against me and after pushing banks to do the same and after making sure that banks had deprived me from their insurance by closing the outstanding and giving me the same outstanding that would be invested in my treatment and of course, after delaying my treatment many times he just…send me back my basic salary from June 2010 till June 12 2011 (still short in 1 month) as what first authorized by MBA before!! I got the chance to speak to EVP-HR Mr Abdulaziz Al Ali as he was waiting for my call but unfortunately, he got WRONG briefing from Ashley who –for sure- had briefed him that he did his utmost for my case. Mr Abdulaziz had thankfully authorized my Financial Year Profit as he said that same was authorized by HH The Chairman to all and every staff and no one can take it from you, he sent Ashley an email to send the FYP with immediate effect however, I took him about a month to receive it after calling him! During the call, Mr Abdulaziz said that “EK can’t give you back your salary as Ashley had briefed him why” when I asked him about my “Personal Accident & Life Insurance” for grade 6 (24 months basic salary) the contract that was given to me when promoted to grade 6!!

This is part of what happened and I still have all the conversation and reports saved but, no one took the initiative to investigate as all were depending on the HR briefing, even the head of EK HR was given wrong briefings!. I haven’t signed on any paper that certifies that I have received all my dues or all my rights even after sending my money actually, I can’t do that as I became disabled of 75% according to 3 medical committees that belongs to Ministry of Health in Jordan, my doctors said that I could be saved from this if my treatment and physiotherapy wasn’t interrupted. I am ready for any medical checks that would be required by the court, my doctors are also ready for a hearing and I hope to get a legal help.

I thank you.

Tagha1“

*  The name of the author is known to the administrators of this blog.

My Medical Contract

My Termination Letter

My Medical Report 1

My Medical Report 2

Memo

Another story of depressed Emirates cabin crew

I am thankful to all the EK staff who had the strength and courage to describe their experience with depression while working for Emirates Airline. Common thing of all people with depression is that they think that they are alone and that nobody feels like they do. They are also pushed to believe that something is wrong with them, especially by EK managers.

Only one EK employee can truly understand another one as we all have been through the system which deliberately tries to make you feel worthless and brainwash you to ensure that you will remain obedient and scared and do more for less.

You are not alone and your reaction to circumstances in the company which abuses its employees in every possible way while giving no appreciation for your hard work is only normal. I can guarantee that most of EK staff experience some form of depression.

As an Human Resources professional I have to say that after reading all of your confessions and stories I am deeply disturbed and sometimes even surprised by the extent of managerial indifference to the problems of their employees.

I still wear my “I love Emirates” bag and my Emirates key-chain as I really do cherish my time spent in this company. But its management achieved unthinkable levels of inhumanity and lack of understanding that only satisfied staff can ensure future profit.

As I sometimes receive disturbing messages when I mention Dubai and UAE’s economy and future plans I will not do it this time but I would like to raise my doubts in benevolence of EK management. Everyone who has a little corporate experience and education can see that their actions really do bring profit in short terms (by cutting costs on the expense of their staff’s quality of life and working conditions), but in long terms they are destroying the company from the grounds.

Managerial structure of Emirates Airline is seriously damaged and it serves only to milk the Emirates cow and let it die in the desert. As local managers should be more concerned about their legacy, their education, experience and tolerant personal culture should help them reverse current power driven and arrogant organisational culture to more humane one. If western managers are mostly there because they couldn’t find jobs in their home countries and to take as much money as they can before leaving UAE, local managers should give up on fear culture and build new team work and mutual care culture. For the sake of their still truly great brand.

Crew’s email.

“Hi Dragana,

As I’ve explained to you before, my story is very similar to the one you posted recently, and no doubt to many anonymous crew remaining silent.

I moved to Dubai nearly two years ago with the same innocent hopes and foolish dreams most of us have former to becoming cabin crew. Previous work experience helped me decipher the false advertising, constant brainwashing, not to mention lying on open days and during training (quote: “We’re the best airline in the world, if we chose YOU it’s because you’re the best as well). How ironic.

I wasn’t displeased, even after seeing the candid environment of the UAE, being of a cheerful nature. However, the constant pressure of having to be ‘perfect’ while lacking the resources to do so, receiving absolutely no gratification for a job well done, soon got to me. You can add to that stress: loneliness, long hours, jet lag, and everything else previously mentioned on this blog that most crew know only too well.

In the end, I’m just an ordinary girl that didn’t look in alcohol, sex or humdrum friendships what Emirates refused to give me: respect. And was just left with her own shortfalls. I did my best every single day, tired myself out, but still the company was telling me via flight reviews that my best wasn’t enough, my fatigue wasn’t valid and my sick days should be justified. There’s only so much a person can give without burning the candle at both ends.

One day, I was doing a flight to Rome, and spent 5 hours trying to explain to my superiors why I didn’t constantly have a smile on my face. I felt close to tears, and the horrible weight of depression that had threatened to smolder me over the past months became overwhelming. I arrived in my room, collapsed and couldn’t get out of bed for that 24hr layover. (Which seemed so absurd to me.. I was in Italy! This was my dream!) I told the company I had food poisoning as a way to get out of doing the return flight, and as soon as I got back, seeked help with the Employee Assistance Program.

That’s when the endless appointments and useless explanations began. One person referred me to another, who referred me to someone else, and all the while they repeated the word ‘confidentiality’ which I didn’t trust. So I lied. No I’ve never felt like this before, no I don’t think I need any official help, I have no suicidal thoughts, I eat and sleep properly. The questions asked resembled more an interview than a genuine desire to help.

When the last therapist I saw suggested I needed to go back to my country to get some proper rest, he gave me a week off, but my manager had to approve my return home. Although he said I didn’t have to give reasons, she refused to see me that day (Monday) claiming she was ‘too busy’, made me wait until Wednesday before an appointment, not even consenting to pick up the phone (I called her five times that day and left numerous messages both with her secretary and on her email). She refused to call me back, and sent me a short email claiming once more that she was ‘too busy’. Two days later, after 45minutes delay, she invited me in a closed off room (not her cubicle) with no witnesses, where she promptly started harassing me for details, at first pretending to be conciliate, then using blackmail. Only an hour later, when it became clear I would yield no personal information, did she consent in letting me go, explaining her disappointment, and forcing me to promise I would return that Tuesday in much better shape (or else). Papers were signed to consolidate this agreement. I was desperate and signed, although I did of course read the papers which she tried to dismiss as ‘formal nonsense’, but  had little options. By then, it was too late to catch a flight, so in total I got to spend 3 days with my family. This was supposed to be enough to recover from the nervous breakdown I could sense I was having.

Prolonging my sick days proved to be a hassle, since my manager had all but warned me that if she did let me go home, it was because I had to promptly go back to work. She assured me lots of people managed to work even with personal issues, and although she had no idea what my dilemma was, it didn’t matter. The fact was, if I didn’t get over it, I was clearly too weak minded, and Emirates wouldn’t pay me to stay at home.

The pressure intended to make me feel guilty just outraged me enough to take my own sweet time in getting better.

Emirates clearly doesn’t know how to deal with real people with real problems. Their solution is to send them home. After receiving threats from my manager, and basically hearing her tell me I should resign, it only confirmed my belief that we are just a number. Not once in all these months when I visited the clinic did they ask me what my name was (except to confirm they had the right ‘staff number’). I don’t remember any of the secretaries ever saying ‘Hi, how are you’ to me either.

As for therapy, that was a wonderful joke. After filling out more interview-like questions, the Dubai Healthcare Clinic psychologist decided that I should be on antidepressants, which would result in another month at home (by then half my pay was going into the pockets of Emirates) and further complications, including the suspension of my GCAA license.

When I finally got it back, it reads in small print that I should visit a doctor once a month. Which is entertaining when I go into briefings before flights, have my documents checked and hear the SFS say “What’s that specification on your license?”. None of your business, that’s what.

It’s been a couple of months now. I never took the medication, and I haven’t seen a doctor since November. No one seems to care. The only person that checks up on me regularly is my manager to have reassurance that I am ‘back on track’ and will not ‘let her down again’ (her words, not mine).

Anyway, that’s the whole story. No doubt a lot of people have similar ones (if they haven’t been fired for being ‘weak’).

Thanks again for allowing us to speak up, your blog is truly inspirational,

Best wishes,

xxx“

Do not fly Emirates

In the light of recent suicide of one Emirates cabin crew, I got several emails about depression of cabin crew (I will publish some articles on that in the next few days). It seems to be much bigger problem than any of us suspect, though. And I believe that it is only a tip of an iceberg as I heard stories about alcohol and drug abuse among Emirates staff. This article is dedicated to all of the EK’s staff struggling to live and work in abnormal and stressful EK working conditions.  

I had several turning points in my life. My work with Emirates was the latest one. Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful that I have worked there and gained much experience and many friends. The only healthy way to survive this life is to see its best lights and to fight against its dark ones.

Of course, you can always, as most of the people, choose not to see the darkness and not to act on it, because you want to keep your job, or because you want to have a secure life, or because you want to be rich and powerful, or because you want to believe that you are better than others, or because you have to feed your family, or because you are afraid that darkness will overwhelm you.

World problems are not your problems specifically, but we are all part of those problems. We all have our part of responsibility in it. And if you are not happy, the only person to blame is you. Reality is yours to create it. There are no other people. Others have their own realities. Your reality is yours to make something of it and whatever you decide it to be, it will be. For sure. Just decide.

By my experience, the most usual thing that people do is denying their part of the responsibility. Emirates Airline managers made their realities by lying to themselves, They are not evil people per se.  At least most of them. They are not bad people per se. They just choose not to see. And when they do see, they are lying to themselves that they can’t do anything about it, that problem is bigger than them, that “This is Dubai” and that their hands are tied by local culture and laws. But they forget that they choose to be where they are and that those chosen positions influence thousands of lives. I guess the most painless way to live a life is by living it in oblivion and selfishness. Mr. Mattar, Senior Vice President of Airport Services, probably still thinks that his staff is happy and that they can have lunch for 2AED. Now he can go home and have a lunch for 200AED. But this is how lie works.

So, EK managers have no problem to post photos on Facebook from their expensive vacations, and photos of their houses and cars/motorcycles while people they are responsible for suffer. And don’t be naive – most of the people who are abused now if given a chance to become managers, would continue the circle of abuse. They convinced themselves that they earned it. Of course, people who don’t have feelings while abusing others are not happy or satisfied people. But system is made that way. Either adjust, keep quiet, keep your head down and believe in it (and be a manager or be abused for someone else’s profit – it’s all the same at the end of the day), either be an outcast, “crazy”, unfit and outlaw.

Of course, it takes a lot of strength to be an outcast. It often hurts. Mob will always attack you because you are the reminder how bad they are.

Why would, then, someone choose to be an outcast? By my opinion it’s the only way to a personal happiness. And I don’t think that an outcast has to live outside the system. I believe that outcast can be a manager in Emirates Airline. The common thing for all outcasts is that they don’t lie to themselves and they do the best they can to make their immediate surrounding a better place.

For example, an outcast EK manager would help a depressed staff to get a proper care. An outcast EK manager would smile to their staff, would appreciate their work with small rewards or even with words of appreciation only, they don’t cost. But EK managers don’t do this even if it doesn’t cost. Why? Because then they have to be honest to themselves and to admit their responsibility for someone else’s misery. They have to be aware of themselves and the consequences of their acts. And it hurts to know that you are the part of something that hurts so many people. And it hurts even more if you admit to yourself that you do it just for the money and personal gain. It hurts less to just tell yourself this is the way it goes and to go with the flow – convince yourself that you are better than others and be an arrogant bastard.

But you know what? Everything is forgiveable because you stop being a hypocrite the moment you admit that you are one.

For example, many people asked me if I would take the money for stop writing this blog. My answer was always: depends on my mood. If I am angry – no. If I am in need for money – yes. But you know what? I am not perfect. I am not a saint. But I would always tell you that I took the money to stop writing the blog and that my fight is over and that I did what was in my power and in my hands as a mortal human being to do. I think it’s honest. You can think that I betrayed my and your ideals and fight, but I TOLD YOU THE TRUTH. What’s more important: I TOLD THE TRUTH TO MYSELF. And I am not a hypocrite then. I did my best which is much more than someone else did (don’t worry, nobody offered me money. EK cherishes money more than their image. This was just an example based on my possible moral struggle).

So, no one has to change fundamentally and to be a better person in order for world to be a better place. You don’t have to change. You just have to tell the truth. To yourself first and then to others. It would be a good start. There is nothing wrong in admitting that you are wrong. You may even continue to do wrong, but don’t pretend it’s not wrong or that you are doing good. Have the courage to be an honest bastard, at least. And at least sometimes if not always.

Finally, we came to the title of this post. My fight “against” Emirates is not a fight against Emirates. “Do not fly Emirates” doesn’t mean a call to not fly with Emirates. Emirates is just a metaphor for lies and deceptions. And the whole world is established on deceptions and oblivion. EK managers are often comforting themselves with this fact: “it’s like this in every company”. I’ve heard this phrase so many times and whenever someone said it to me I knew that I am looking at the person who is walking the easier path of self deception. And I don’t mind people lying to themselves, I mind that they hurt others. This is why I started this blog and this is why I am still writing it. Do not fly Emirates means – do not lie to yourselves.

I got over my termination even before I was terminated. Maybe even before I was employed in EK. But Emirates Airline is the first company which gave me the profound knowledge on how every false system works. Most companies hide behind human and labour rights. Some of those rights are implemented and working, some of them are violated or even not implemented. But at least these rights stand as an ideal principle which is to be pursued by human rights activists and courts of law.

Emirates Airline (as a bunch of other companies all around the world as well) is the most outrageous lie I ever encountered to. And the most inhumane one. And besides the effects on my health (thyroid gland malfunction and disturbed peace of my mind) it left a deeper trail. It left a vision of future whose contributor I don’t want to be. I am taking my part of the responsibility in building that selfish, oblivious and inhumane future. I am not frustrated (at least not that much), I am not a rebel, I am not an anarchist (primarily). I just took the responsibility for my part of reality. And now when I am a hypocrite (and we all sometimes are) I can say it out loud and by doing so – clear myself of any further hypocrisy. That is what inner peace and happiness are for me.

Fight your fights people. Don’t be afraid to stand for yourselves. Love and respect yourselves. Forgive yourselves. Take the responsibility for your lives. Enjoy the ride. No one said it’s an easy ride, but if you overcome some difficult bumps I can promise that it won’t get less bumpy, but you will start to overcome the obstacles much easier. And then you will have the time to look around you and enjoy the ride.

Writing this blog is part of my ride.

Emirates cabin crew fired for complaining to GCAA, ACAA and IATA?

According to this e-mail from one senior staff, Emirates Airline cabin crew complained to GCAA, ACAA and IATA on illegal layover length, fatigue and breach of safety rules and they got fired due to “inappropriate behavour”. Apparently, according to Emirates Airline managers, it’s inappropriate to contact international regulative organizations responsible for aviation safety and rules to complain on violation of those rules.

This is the e-mail that I have got today:

“Hi Dragana,

i hope you are doing alright..
it took me sometime to find the courage to send this email to be honest im a bit afraid of loosing my job.
anyhow, here are some new stuff been going
i have xxx godforsaken flight to JFK during the snow storm where they had only 10 hours layover…. 4 of the crew xxx decided to make an official complaint to GCAA, ACAA & IATA , the e-mail was successfully sent , read and replied to… however, apparently emirates has it own people everywhere, somehow Mr. Terry received a copy of that e-mail ????

and as you know these days he is operating ” OPEN FORUM ” same one as Anoma did which led to your termination …. needless to say  its not going well as only about 400 crews decided to show up which made him say its an “isolated problem” ( because half of them are on leave and the other are operating, which he didn’t think of ) the point is he had a meeting with those 4 crews who sent the e-mail to GCAA and guess what happened after a long lecture about work ethics and bragging about how emirates is feeding them and their families , it ended up by 2 of them being terminated due ” inappropriate behavior “   how ironic… apparently this is the reason to termainte staff when you don’t have a reason, as for the other 2 crews since they didn’t use their company email to send the complaint they were blessed by a final written warning and … wait for it ….. leave balance forfeiting … swap freeze …. no access to company e-mail… WOOOW now the manager will send them email which they cant ready and they will be terminated ….
disregarding how unethical and a severe breach of company/uae labor laws which emirates is anyhow above it, they had to accept it because of their financial problems and their knowledge that they can’t get a better or same level job back in their countries … how sad…but true..
as we speak there is another open forum is going and i’ll send you the outcome when i get it.

as for EKAS…
after Mr. walter promised to take EKAS to the new level… i can’t deny he did some improvements (THANKS TO YOU AND YOUR BLOG)
Mr. walter had several meetings with MASs and ASMs on how to make EKAS better ( for the company )
and the out come was ( as per some ASMs whom im close friend with )
1- all staff with more than 60 hours sickness are not entitled for grade.

2- verbal warning to be issued for staff who don’t comply with uniform and image standards…

3- sick reporting is now 5 hours before duty, any call after that will not be documented and staff will be marked absent ( great now i have to wake up 6 hours before my duty to see if im fit to work or not)

4- no more LOCAL LEAVES authorized by ASMs or MASs.
and yet more to come… im just waiting for walter to publish them ( i doubt it )

and hey .. do you remember that glorious day for emirates on 19 Dec where they had a record of passengers numbers ?
here is something for you about it, Mr. walter was so generous and gave all staffs who were working that day 25AED meal voucher BUT.. no time for the staff to eat, i was doing morning shift that day, and i witnessed staff who had 8-9 tasks on 10 hours shift, with a maximum break of 15 minutes ( time between gate to another) and when someone called RTC they bluntly informed the staff there is no break in your contract …..
staff were asked to perform all kind of tasks including remote departures/arrivals SAT and boarding.. and due to lack of staff that day many flights were without enough staff and some without Gate supervisors and i know some of the staff who had no GS on their flights got warnings because the flight was delayed….
how would you expect a staff who only got trained for boarding (BAMBAM) in 2 weeks to do a job that requires intensive system experience..
i can’t recall allllllll the incidents that happened with details , but you have my word, your blog will be my tongue.
eveyone (who is not a hypocrite or an ass kisser) is very proud of you and what you have achieved for us.

thank you for everything.“

Email from a senior Emirates staff

Update from former Senior Vice President of Emirates Airline

History of serious mismanagement in Emirates Airline lasts for many years now. Like in every basket, one or few rotten apples spoil the whole basket of fruit.This process manifests itself as systematic disposal of honest and ethical managers and staff, who are not willing to comply to rottenness. This process went out of control since Sir Maurice Flanagan left the rudder to others.

So what happens with one company when honest people leave? It is left with network of dishonest, incapable and weak managers who abuse the company and its staff to get profit and benefits for themselves, especially when they know that they have to leave the country one day. Of course, these managers are not capable to create, conduct and successfully finish most of their projects as most of the good and skilled people left or they are kept quiet, blackmailed and threatened with warnings and service terminations.

I already wrote about Ms. Anoma Manuel’s (former Divisional Vice President Airport Services) failed project with new ABC check in and boarding system. Ms. Anoma is so rampant that she decided to forcefully implement this project although the feedback on it was very bad. But, as Ms. Anoma told me once – her seniors are friends of hers. So, she is protected. And her bonus is protected. But who will protect the company and its staff from this kind of incompetent and bully managers? Who will stop the absurd waste of money on meaningless projects, which their innovators falsely present as “successful and useful” or they just cover all the traces of projects’ failures?

Mr.Tom Burgess’s (former Senior Vice President in Emirates Airline) blog.

People criticized me for asking Ms. Anoma about her salary. I was fired for asking her about her salary. But I would ask her again. And again. And again. Because she doesn’t care about the sufferings of her staff. She would rather waste huge amounts of company’s money on unnecessary projects, just to look good in her superiors’ eyes and to ensure her bonus, than to take care of her staff.

Unfortunately, she is not the only manager who wastes company’s money just as I am not the only former employee who writes the blog about injustices and management’s incompetency in Emirates Airline.

As I wrote at the beginning of this article, EK’s rotten management apples systematically spoil or get rid of their best managers. Mr.Tom Burgess is one of these managers. I will let you read his blog and decide about his intentions, skills and motivation. Today I want to re-publish his newest article which describes the exact mechanism on how managers waste company’s money on ludicrous projects while underpaying, bullying and punishing their hard working staff at the same time. This example is on the much higher level of management as Mr.Burgess had an important and responsible role in Emirates Airline.

Mr.Burgess was employed in higher management of Emirates Airline as Senior Vice President in EG IT department with Mr.Patrick Naef as Divisional Senior Vice President. On Mr.Burgess’s blog you can read everything on poisoned and backstabbing organisational culture in Emirates IT department, where Mr.Patrick Naef uses some questionable methods to get rid of all the managers who “stand on his way” of deceiving the top management about the real condition of his department.

DSVP of EGIT department Patrick Naef

This is just the part of the article. You can read the whole article here.

No winner, many losers.

***

Seeing the many comments on the web about the way staff are treated in the Emirates group, including a focus on salaries, led me to do a rough calculation.  I believe that if the money wasted on Mercator Asia had been diverted to EKAS budgets, all ground staff could have enjoyed a 20% pay increase for every one of the four years of Mercator Asia operation.  And this is only looking at the cost of one failed initiative – try to imagine how much money has been poured into the IT drain over the last nine years!

The most odious of problems facing the Emirates group is the bullying of staff by managers, but perhaps the biggest issue is that front line staff, critical to the business, are overworked and underpaid.  But it would not be difficult to take a broom to the numerous support areas (not just EG-IT) and divert the proceeds to much better use.

***

Fundamental changes are essential, but some people are still thrashing around in the depths of the denial stage of the change curve.  At least there has been recognition that there is a major problem, but real progress will not be possible until some time is spent looking in the mirror.  It will take true leadership to get the ball of change rolling and then, when it comes, the really difficult challenges will emerge.

Mercator Asia project is mentioned very often at Mr.Burgess’s blog.

Perhaps the biggest task will be to convince staff that the company is serious about change.  To illustrate this point, what will Patrick Naef need to do to persuade you to trust him?

And will anyone know what to do?  Adopting a policy of being open and honest will be a major start.  But, in my experience, the further people rise up the corporate ladder, the greater difficulty they have with the concept of being open and honest.  The line between what staff should be told (i.e. most things) and what they shouldn’t be (i.e. commercially or personally confidential information) is well understood by the majority of staff, but creates paranoia nearer the top.

And who will actually lead this essential change project?  Assuming someone who can be trusted is found, will they have the necessary skills?  Turning a corporate culture around is not a job for a bunch of external consultants, a genuine understanding of the issues is a prerequisite.  And he/she will also need the resolve to stand up to some pretty powerful figures, who I doubt will ever be genuinely convinced that a different way will be the right way.

However, the cause is far from lost because the company is blessed with tens of thousands of loyal, competent and hard working staff.  They want success for the company as much as they want it for themselves and I am sure they will be tolerant during what will be a lengthy process.  And for every bad manager in the company, there are numerous decent and capable managers.  They just need to be given more of a voice.

But delay is counterproductive.  As time moves on more evidence of the way Emirates treats its staff will emerge on the blogs and forums, more staff will resign, more careers will be wasted and more money will be poured down the drains of Dubai.

Posted by Tom Burgess at 22:37

 

Advertisement__________________________________

Emirates Airline’s life style brand: your good life style is our staff’s miserable life OR How Emirates Airline robs from its employees?

I have read this article yesterday and I was left speechless due to insolence of the last paragraph where Mr.Tim Clark, the president of Emirates Airline and former CEO, states:

 “I just do not accept that the airline business is cyclical, and that airlines will inevitably go out of business in the end,” he said. “The ones who’ve disappeared in the past – like Pan Am and TWA – had different business models. And none of them had Dubai, with its geocentricity. None of the legacy carriers had the kind of thinking we have and the natural aviation attractions of a domestic hub like Dubai.”

Employees of Emirates Airline are sick and tired of their managers telling to the public how powerful company is, arrogantly lecturing other airlines and accusing them of bad business practises in comparison with EK’s business practises.

This is the simple truth about Emirates Airline’s business practice:

Emirates Airline hires staff from less developed countries by deceiving them about their contracts and working conditions and then they exploit and abuse them.

I was, for example, hired for Dnata’s Marhaba service. Only when I came to Dubai I found out that I will be working in check in area. Since salary for ground staff is so small and working conditions so bad, during the recruitment process recruiters use lies to make people willing to come and work for them. The usual way is to tell the cabin crew wannabes that they can apply for cabin crew from ground staff, if they come to work as ground staff. This is an obvious lie, because internal hirings are rare and only few among hundreds of applicants are chosen due to the shortage of staff in Airport Services. 

Once people arrive to Dubai, they already left their homes and previous jobs, if they had them. So, every “take it or leave it” choice is, actually, mean emotional blackmail as most of them don’t have where to return to. This makes new employees of Emirates Airline vulnerable for all sorts of exploitation and abuse. Their contract is violated with forced overtimes and extra unpaid working hours and with all sorts of bullying and punishing for a small or for somebody else’s mistake. 

I already wrote about the things that ground staff do for free in Emirates Airline. Today I am going to explain a few more ways of EK managers to steal money from their employees. 

1. Blackmail with End of Service benefit

Emirates Airline has a huge problem with massive resignations. So huge that they even don’t have enough crew to operate the flights, so some flights are cancelled or delayed. Management is even lying to the cabin crew by not telling them until the briefing that they would be doing double turnarounds or double sectors (!). There are situations (usually when flying short distances and double turnarounds – Doha, Kuwait, Muscat) where crew is working 12 hours per day and being paid for only 4 or 5 hours which is how much they are in the air. Company doesn’t include ground hours in crew’s salary although crew is at work.

Due to these awful working conditions and poisoned organizational culture, which are very damaging for staff’s health, many crew resign. Problem is that Emirate Airline can’t afford so many resignations. They desperately need crew and they don’t have enough resources to process so many resignations. So they have decided to start to reject crew’s resignations. Of course, crew want their End of Service benefit so they can’t just go, they want to resign properly and as per the law. Managers know this so they are now abusing this fact to force people to stay a little bit longer in the company, keeping them as half hostages. I’ve got this information from one cabin crew:

I recently flew with a xxx, who has been in the company around xxx years. Crew has given in their resignation letter TWICE and both times they received an email saying, that they are unfortunately unable to process the REQUEST due to the …probably operational needs 🙂  Shorty, this resignation was declined because there are too many people leaving. And as crew’s EOSB are around 20 000 AED or above for now, so crew cannot just leave or be kicked out, they want to have their hard earned money.

Keeping an unsatisfied employee by force and manipulating them to stay with money, is taking EK’s unprofessional HR management and poor organizational culture to a whole new extremely disgraceful level. The company is just rotting from inside and it’s only a matter of time when the outside is starting to turn ugly as well.

2. Overcharging for uniform items

As much as this seems ridiculous it is happening for a long time now. Let’s take shoes for example. Staff is forced to wear them for one year. After that they get free replacements. It is just outrageous to expect anyone to wear the same shoes almost every working day for a whole year. But EK managers do that, hoping that many staff will just go to their store and buy new ones for around 180 AED. And many staff do so, as it is very dangerous to walk around on ruined heels.

The newest idea of EK management on how to take money from their employees are “nationality pins” (flag pins) which cabin crew are forced to wear. Every replacement costs 30 AED. You guess how many lost small pins will be in one year and what profit will EK have just by charging the pin replacements.

3. Asking for money from former employees

When I went to collect my suspension salary, it wasn’t in the system. Instead, EK end of service counter staff notified me that I owe the company several thousands of dirhams. He even printed the bill for me. I laughed. I asked him three times to check with his superiors about my salary, which he finally did. And I got my salary. Not without the troubles. 

One former ground staff sent me recently her bill. She got it at her home address. She resigned suddenly. She went home and never came back which is a usual situation in Emirates Airline. But this girl notified her managers that she will not come back, she arranged her uniform and uniform assets to be returned to the company and she asked how she can cancel her visa from her home country. She left her End of service money and leave balance to the company. After three months she got a letter from Emirates Airline, asking her to pay several thousands of dirhams to them. This bill included the deduction of her notice period salary (she didn’t do her notice period) but it didn’t include her End of service benefit and unpaid leave balance which she left to the company. How embarrassing is this? Such a huge and “successful” company trying to squeeze the money from their abused employees?

And I just happen to personally know several other people who were asked for a money at the end of their service.

EK Letter to former employee (at the bottom there is a threat what will happen if dues are not paid)

 

The bill which doesn’t include end of service benefit and rest of leave days. A sneaky way of EK managers to try and take the money from their former employees.

4. Cancelling loads view in the staff travel system

One of the benefit of working with any airline are discounted airplane tickets. There are numerous types of discounted staff tickets, but most popular are called ID90 and ID50. ID90 is a cheaper, standby ticket. You only get a seat if there are available seats on board. ID50 is more expensive one, but it should be confirmed, you should get your seat except in extraordinary circumstances.

Whenever they travelled before, staff could see in the system the exact number of booked seats and number of staff with discounted tickets travelling. It was very useful information as it gave the staff opportunity to plan their trips and calculate the possibility the get the seat on a desired flight.

Recently, EK management decided to cancel this option. No more exact numbers of passengers on flights. Why? Answer is very easy: more people will buy more expensive ID50 tickets in order to have bigger chances to get the seat and less people will travel uncertain of their possibilities to be back on time. Less people travelling means more people available for work, which is a good deal for EK because they are lack of staff anyway.

More on this subject here.

Loads can be seen only in colours now.

Explanation on colour meaning.

These are just few ways of how Emirates Airline robs its employees. I know you know many more ways, so please do write about them in the comments.

So, it seems that Mr.Tim Clark found a better business model after all. Of course, airlines which he criticizes for having difficulties only have them because their competition airline abuses underpaid half slaves. This doesn’t make Mr.Tim Clark a business genius, but rather a ruthless and unethical manager who had the luck to be on the top of the company which is not the subject to any labour law.

Mr.Tim Clark also forgets that Abu Dhabi, Doha and Muscat also have a great “geocentricity”, so Emirates Airline is not without a competition.

There are, also, other ways to be left out of the business. One of the most important ones is brutal exploitation of labour force. One company can not simply abuse thousands of people for years and then expect to be loved and successful brand.

So much of a life style brand. Your good life style is our staff’s miserable life.

Advertisement__________________________________