Singapore Airlines has finally ended its controversial rule of firing pregnant cabin crew after it faced a lot of criticism over the years. Following a report by Strait Times, the company clarified that the cabin crew “may choose to work in a temporary ground attachment” during their pregnancy.
Earlier, the company rules stated that any flight crew, who informed the authorities about their pregnancy, was put on leave without any pay and was forced to quit after the birth of the child.
According to the report, the women were not even allowed to do the groundwork for the airline and if they wanted to work after the pregnancy, they had to submit a fresh application with the company.
The rule has been the same since the airline was launched and even in 2010, they faced strict criticism from gender equality groups all around the world for sticking to ‘archaic” regulations.
However, the situation has changed quite a bit due to the labour shortage resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the new rules which came into effect on July 15, the women will be allowed to resume their work after their pregnancy and will also be granted sufficient maternity leaves.
In the official statement, the airline said that it will now allow“ground placements for pregnant cabin crew last for at least three months and as long as nine months" under the new rules.
There is still one point of contention as the cabin crew will still be placed on leave without pay if they want a cabin job and if they will be free to apply for ground staff work during the pregnancy.