Gulf Air hosts trade union meeting

Manama, Oct. 26 (BNA): Gulf Air, the Kingdom of Bahrain’s national carrier,today hosted a meeting between H.E. Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa, Chairman of the airline’s Board Executive Committee and member of Gulf Air’s Board of Directors, Mr. Maher Salman Al Musallam,Gulf Air A/Chief Executive Officer and representatives from the airline’s three trade unions to address organizational and workplace matters. The meeting took place at Gulf Air’s headquarters in Muharraq and saw representatives and members of the national carrier’s three unions:National Labour Union of Gulf Air,Gulf Air Trade Union, Flight Attendants General Trade Union and represented by Ahmed Al Kuwaiti,Yousif Ahmed Hassan and Abdul Qader Hussain respectively, discussing issues pertaining to staff in an active two-way dialogue that touched upon their views on labour and employment issues. H.E. Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa said: "Recent years have seen Gulf Air undergo a remarkable transformation, one that we can all be proud of and that is directly attributed to the active involvement and dedication of all stakeholders. We always welcome the invaluable feedback from Gulf Air’s three unions and the discussions we had today served to further underline the importance of unions in making the workplace more productive and inclusive.Gulf Air’s executive management team is committed to addressing the various matters highlighted today as part of an ongoing collaboration between all parties in support of Bahrain’s national carrier." Gulf Air A/Chief Executive Officer Mr. Al Musallam praised the role of trade unions in support of the ongoing positive development of the Kingdom’s national carrier, stressing the importance of their function and endeavors. He spoke of 2016 as "the year of the employee," reinforcing the airline’s commitment to its workforce: a valuable asset that is integral to the carrier achieving commercial sustainability. In turn, representatives and members of the national carrier’s three unions expressed their appreciation and thanks to the airline’s executive management team and Board of Directors for providing a forum for discussion on a broad range of employee-related matters – maintaining two way channels of communication aimed at enhancing and promoting the airline’s workforce towards the ongoing and future success of the airline. Gulf Air’s 2013 restructuring strategy, led by the airline’s Board of Directors and executive management team, saw the active involvement of all stakeholders including the airline’s unions. The national carrier’s positive financial and operational results in 2014 delivered a 32.8% reduction in losses,positioning the airline firmly on-track towards achieving long-term commercial sustainability and strengthening its role as a key national infrastructure asset that provides business links which are important for the Kingdom of Bahrain’s economic development.