Ex-Kingfisher employees protest against Mallya, seek payment of dues

Stage protest outside airline's former office in Mumbai, currently under sale by banks

"Vijay Mallya would always say Kingfisher employees are like a family to him and that he would never let us down but this is exactly what he did," remarks Ajay Naik who worked in the airline's cargo department for five years till it shut down in 2012.

On Wednesday afternoon Naik and over 20 of his colleagues gathered outside Mumbai's Kingfisher House shouting slogans against Mallya and demanding their salaries and dues.

Kingfisher House which is situated close to Mumbai's domestic terminal is now in possession of banks which lent over Rs 7000 crore to the airline.

"The banks can attach properties and tax department can seize Mallya's personal jet. But what recourse do we employees have ? We want our salaries and want the government to help us," said Aniruddh Ballal who worked for the airline's ground services department till 2012. Ballal now works in a ground handling company.

The airline's closure in 2012 hit the employees the hardest. While pilots were relatively better off as they got jobs in other airlines, many from the administration department, airport services and technical department found it difficult to secure jobs. Getting work has been difficult as rival airlines weren't keen to offer the salary and position which they enjoyed in Kingfisher.

"I resigned from the airline last month. We had hope that we would get paid the full dues. My father is bedridden and my mother is a heart patient. She underwent surgery in 2013 and I had to borrow money from friends and cousins for the treatment. The company had stopped the group mediclaim policy without intimation," she said. 

"I received my last salary in July 2012 but received a notice from the income tax department for the full year. The tax department should not hound us," said Pawan Kirtikar, a former Kingfisher engineering department employee.