Airlines in no-poaching pact

Mumbai: It is not official yet, but airlines in India have informally agreed to enter into a no-poaching pact in view of the crunch in skilled staff. At a recent meeting held in New Delhi under the aegis of the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), human resources (HR) heads of various airlines have discussed certain protocols to be followed by member firms when it comes to their workforce.
Any pilot, wishing to join a rival airline, will have to serve a notice period of six months after resigning from his current position. Also, an employee, at the time of joining a new company, will have to submit a no-objection certificate (NOC) signed by his former employer.
To avoid any clandestine exits, the FIA members have agreed to inform the company from where the employee is being poached in advance. The decision comes after a recent spate of poaching of employees, mostly engineers and pilots by newer airlines.
Jamshed Mistry, an advocate with the Bombay High Court, said, “Under section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, to restrict an employee from joining another organisation is unlawful, unless there are determinant factors mentioned in the contract at the time of his joining the organisation.”
12/07/07 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Express