Qatar Airways joins the oneworld aviation alliance at midnight Doha time today (October 29) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has used the occasion to once again criticise the airline.
According to the ITF, its recent criticism of the airline’s staff policies sparked a number of messages from serving and former staff, which, in its view, provide evidence of further abuses. These are being raised with oneworld airlines, including British Airways, the organisation says.
In its latest statement, the ITF claims that:
– QA contracts bar female workers from marrying for five years. Even after that period they must seek the airline’s permission to marry.
– Contracts state that the company can terminate employment from the date of notification of a pregnancy; failing to notify the employer or concealing a pregnancy is a breach of contract. There is no maternity leave; pregnancy equals loss of the job.
 – All workers have to sign confidentiality agreements that stay in effect even after they have left the company.
The ITF also takes exception to the cabin crew code of conduct, which places strict rules on what cabin crew can and can’t do whilst in uniform and allows the airline to feature staff in any promotional materials without giving them extra compensation.
ITF president Paddy Crumlin said: “The labour relations at Qatar Airways are a running sore on the face of the global aviation industry. Autocratic, overbearing and near-dictatorial, this airline gains control and competitive advantage by ignoring International Labour Organization conventions on worker rights. Its treatment of its employees borders on the appalling.
“In its current form it is not a fit partner for the members of the oneworld alliance. Its inclusion is a disgrace. If it is going to be accepted as a world class airline then it has to make fundamental changes throughout its entire structure.”
