Key Points
- Singapore Airlines will no longer sack flight attendants who are pregnant in a new change to a controversial policy.
- Cabin crew staff who give birth are now entitled to 16 weeks of unpaid leave in an "overdue" policy change.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) will no longer sack flight attendants who are pregnant in a change to a longstanding controversial policy.
It was previously standard practice for the airline to place cabin crew members on unpaid leave when it was made aware they were pregnant. Once the child's birth certificate was submitted, staff would be told to quit.
If staff wanted to come back to SIA, they would have needed to apply again for their jobs under a returning-employee scheme. There was no guarantee of re-employment.
Singapore Airlines flight crew members who are pregnant can now apply for temporary ground jobs before they are due for unpaid leave. Source: Getty / NurPhoto
According to a memo sent to staff and seen by the newspaper, the move has been made to "further support our cabin crew during and after their pregnancy”.
Pregnant staff are now able to apply for temporary ground jobs, such as administrative work and handling customer feedback.
SIA said it will offer a one-year contract renewal for temporary staff whose contract would be due to end while on leave.
The policy change was enforced on 15 July, according to The Straits Times.
The change comes after more than a decade of campaigning by women's rights groups in Singapore, who have criticised the airline for discrimination and pushed for more job security for expecting mothers.
One such group, the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) welcomed the "overdue" policy change.
"We welcome SIA's long overdue policy change, one that we had previously flagged.
"While this a positive change, we hope SIA continues to support working mothers by allowing more flexible work arrangements and revising its restrictive grooming standards," AWARE wrote on Twitter.
The company, in a statement to Singaporean website Mothership, said: "Singapore Airlines supports our cabin crew during and after their pregnancy. Expecting cabin crew may choose to work in a temporary ground attachment from the time they declare the pregnancy till before the delivery.
"This may range between a minimum of three months to nine months. These cabin crew will resume their flying duties at the end of their maternity leave. We continue to work hard to retain our talented people, and invest in them, so that they can deliver the world-class service that SIA is renowned for."
In 2015, Qatar Airways did away with a similar policy that said cabin crew could be dismissed if they got married or pregnant within five years of employment.
