PETALING JAYA: The National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) has hit out against outgoing Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAS) Chief Executive Officer Christoph Mueller for his “egotistic” comment claiming that many of the 6,000 employees let go by the company were caught sleeping.
“The problem with him (Mueller) is that he is an outsider and might not understand our work culture in this country,” it said in a statement on Facebook on Friday night.
Nufam said that there might be reasons as to why employees were caught sleeping on the job and urged Mueller to understand that some workers in operations had 24 hour shifts while some also work overtime, causing them to be tired at the end of their shift.
“It is unlikely that the worker would turn up to their workplace just to sleep. Why sleep at the office? It is more comfortable to sleep at home or they could even take the day off id they have not well rested,” it said.
Nufam called on Mueller to provide proof that the workers had been sleeping on the job.
“It is very important that the cabin crew has to get enough sleep because it would freshen them up for long flights. Sleep should not be a reason why an airline like MAS should sack its employees!” it said.
Nufam also hit out at the airline for using “easy way” to sack its employees by giving the excuse that 6,000 of its staff were caught sleeping.
It called for Mueller to take a look at the policy Virgin airlines that encourages their employees to take naps if they feel tired.
“This is one of the qualities that a high ranking airline company should have,” it said.
Mueller was hired in March 2015 after Malaysia Air's reputation and sales were hit by two fatal crashes the previous year.
He had earlier stated his decision to leave the company in September due to “reasons that were personal and beyond his control”.
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