Personnel Management In Private Airlines
An Overview

By Bimal Kumar Subedi

NEPAL being a mountainous country with tough topography and having eighteen out of seventy five districts without any other mode of transport except air service or foot trails, has immense importance of domestic air transport for the development of the country and to facilitate its people. However, the history of Nepali private airlines serving domestic sectors is not very long. It animated itself after the proclamation of liberal sky policy of His Majesty's Government of Nepal in 1992 and paved its way for the entry of three private airlines (among which two have already ceased their operation).

Obstacles

At present, sixteen airlines are providing their regular services with few more in the line of operating. Since their emergence, the private airline companies are progressing by leaps and bounds. But at the same time, they are not free from obstacles. They always have to work hard to weather the storm even for their mere survival. Closing of an older one and establishment of a new one is happening. Whatever might be the factors behind their instability, their financial market position or clashes among the partners or some other factors, one thing is very distinct that the personnel system management in the private airlines is not to that extent where it should be. Consequently it is causing unstable airline business. And also because of the reluctance of the Civil Aviation Authority in that matter, the aviation security of the private airlines has been pushed towards a threatening situation.

Private airlines job however looks to be very fascinating and splendid in the surface level. But inside the curtain of glamour, the reality is different. Almost all private airlines have acquired their aircraft on lease and their operational and maintenance personnel are taken from RNAC or from CAAN at a higher remuneration rate and still many are from different sources. Manpower planning is lacking. The airline owners are not willing to invest in the infrastructure building and manpower development as they are looking more into short-terms benefits.

The private airlines' employees however are enjoying a good remuneration in comparison to the civil service, but they are actually breathing in an uncertain atmosphere. It is only a fair weather job for them as that in the nick of time, anyone of them could be dismissed from their job with a lame excuse. They are not supported with any legal right to claim to be put back into their job. The dirty little secret is that all private airlines are not in a position to hold their staff perennially. Actually, some are being like the moon of the wane and they are gradually withering themselves to be finished even within a foreseeable future.

In a democratic country like Nepal, forming trade-unions or establishing some sort of institutions based upon the employees' unity and welfare is a normal thing. It is not banned even by the law of the land. Employees can ask their master's or companies for the betterment, security and prosperity of their respective jobs. In a wide sense it is neither too. Because you can only hit to the proper point effectively if the tools are sharp. Certainly, any union of such would be tools for strengthening inspiration of employees are directing organised efforts towards the betterment of civil aviation. If not or without a collective view as lacking of deliberate plan and progress, the congregation of ramming people with solitary identities, would not serve better. Who is working there and why? Is the person satisfied and qualified enough to hold their respective posts? Is one's presence in a certain position necessary? And, is one able to bear the responsibilities as per the prescribed standard? Or is there any actual position and prescribed responsibilities for that position at all? There are the most significant accusations for an authority to launch effective personnel system within its control.

But in practice, if one tries to deal with these accusations, obviously one would be baffled. The reluctance of the concerned companies towards permitting to form such unions, the low interest of CAAN towards interfering with the personnel management of private airlines and the unwillingness of the concerned employees to raise questions against their uncertain future are some facts causing the answers hard. It is sad to see the private airlines staffs blindly attached to their so called glowing jobs and facilities. If they remain unconcerned about their own future, later, they should not blame anybody but themselves.

Thus, we see that a well organised, defined, standardised and controlled manpower system of private airlines is a most necessary tool for achieving a secured and standard civil aviation in the domestic sector. In the absence of which is caused not only the instability of airline business but consequently will soon affect the aviation security system directly as well. Thus, the personnel system of private airlines should not only be of the concern for the respective companies but more imediately, it is also the concern for the Civil Aviation Authority.

The personnel management, of any private company is a matter of internal affair of the concerned company. Nevertheless if it is a potent danger for the whole system in someway or another, the authority should not be indifferent with the matter. Being reluctant and aloof to the private airlines personnel management would not favour our tourism industry and aviation security in the long run. Of course it is true that the direct interference in the private company's inner matters as personnel system may prove to be a wild goose chase for the authority but it is also true that the authority should not show its white feathers for interfering into the matters of wide concern for the people and the nation. So, at least the authority should establish a common ground or base for all to run their personnel system within a certain and fixed common frame and the system should feel itself as a sustainable body, and the personnel operations should run under a certain automatic mechanism perennially. Criteria

For this, the authority should established certain criteria on personnel recruitment, working hours and facilities, job serurities, job-position and its responsibility, personnel's qualification and working abilities, retirement and after-facilities etc Blocking highly commercialised tendencies of private airlines staff authority should try to generalise them into a common national form and widen them by linking in the chain of national prosperity as a tool of effective facilites provider, and also as a responsible builders of the nation and let not them isolate into the narrow frame of certain company with limited interest.

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