"Africa’s largest airline is starting to furlough workers as the global travel downturn bites"

Africa’s biggest airline, Ethiopian Airlines, has started to furlough workers, including crew members in response to the devastating impact of the coronavirus crisis on the global travel industry. The union, which represents most of the airline’s 8,000 workers, criticized the decision to lay off thousands of employees with no pay for three months and possibly longer in the midst of a pandemic. The decision to furlough workers comes as the airline is under pressure to cancel flights to nations that have substantial virus spreads, including flights to China. It had earlier promised to offset passenger losses due to Covid-19 with an increase in cargo flights. This led to a presumption employees were not at a risk of being laid off at such a large scale, the union claimed. “Most of us are being forced to agree to a three-month leave without any payment with little option,” says a full-time hostess who spoke to Quartz Africa on condition of anonymity. “If we don’t agree, we have been warned that would be considered as if we have abandoned our jobs at our own will and there will be no employment guarantee once the crisis is over.”

A letter forwarded to  employees—seen by Quartz Africa—says due to reasons beyond the company’s control, staff are no longer required to report for duty until the resumption of normal operations. “The company does not opt for the termination of your employment contract by now and rather we found it plausible to grant you annual leave and leave without pay for specified duration,” the letter reads.