National carrier Royal Jordanian (RJ) has signed a collective agreement with the General Union for Air Transport giving RJ staff the choice to obtain a voluntary release from the job between February 1 and March 31, 2018 subject to the airline’s approval.

As per the agreement, employees have the option to submit a request to be released from service, and, subject to Royal Jordanian’s approval, the employees are given a half-month salary for each year of service.

This comes in line with the turnaround plan the Jordanian carrier is currently implementing to achieve sustainable profitability and one of the main pillars of the plan requires that RJ reduces the manpower, stated Stefan Pichler, the president and chief executive after signing the agreement with Yousef Qannab, the head of the Union.    

Pichler underlined RJ's and the union's keenness to ensure the sustainable profitability of the national carrier and its role in serving Jordan, and achieving the airline’s strategic goals.

Qannab said the union's priority was to protect all employees’ rights, by ensuring that they receive compensation that supports them and their families at the end of their service.-TradeArabia News Service