Nine months after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) intervened on behalf of sacked Jet Airways employees to get them reinstated, some 43 Jet Airways staff, who have been given termination letters, have again approached the party for help.

A delegation of the party’s aviation wing, Maharashtra Hawai Karmachari Sena, met the employees and sought to mediate with the management on Saturday. Another round of meetings is scheduled for Monday to seek the reinstatement of the employees.

On Friday, Jet Airways terminated the contracts of 43 technicians largely from its engineering department. The maintenance engineers were on fixed contracts and their contractual period with the company had been recently extended by the carrier by another year.

“We are of the opinion that they should be reinstated. Though they are trainee employees, they have been kept on board well beyond their training period for the company’s benefit. Now, they should not be suddenly removed,” said Gajanan Rane, vice-president, Maharashtra Hawai Karmachari Sena.

A spokesperson from the airline confirmed the development and said the airline was trying to provide them with alternative assignments. “As a part of its cost restructuring exercise and in order to meet the challenges of the downturn in the aviation sector, Jet Airways has found it necessary to issue notices of termination to the Trainee Junior Technicians of the Engineering Department. The personnel are on fixed term contracts and the notices are being issued in accordance with the terms of their contracts and in compliance with the law. The trimming of the workforce has been necessitated by the ongoing rationalisation of the airline’s operations,” the spokesperson said.