March 13, 2010 -- In its annual staff meeting held at the Addis Ababa Conference Center, Girma Wake, CEO of Ethiopian, told employees of the airline that this was not the right time to make a salary increment, reports Ethiopian Reporter. 

According to the report, following record profityear, most of the employees had expected to hear news of a salary increment and bonus payment. However, the CEO told them that though they deserved a salary increment, now was not an appropriate time to get it. He said the challenging time Ethiopian was facing in the wake of the plane crash necessitated the delay in making the increment. He indicated that the increment would be made sometime in the future, though he did not mention a specific date.

Employees of the airline are not convinced with the CEO’s explanation. Some of then told The Reporter that they deserved the increment given the airline's record profit. Wegayehu Tefera, acting public relations head, however declined to comment on the matter saying the airline has a policy of not disclosing information regarding internal staff meetings.

The other point of discussion was about the staff residence housing project. The airline has acquired a large plot of land in the CMC area for the construction of staff residence and contracted a Chinese firm to undertake the construction of the houses. However, most of the employees complain that the prices of the houses are beyond their means, and some are evening withdrawing from the project.

Source: Reporter