Parkaran Kutty
PETALING JAYA: An industrial court has ruled that an AirAsia flight attendant was unfairly dismissed over a negative social media post against the airline on his personal account.
Kuala Lumpur Industrial Court chairman Pravin Kaur Jessy said the posting, which referred to the management as “idiots,” was injudicious but not destructive.
“Consistent with the principles of proportionality and social justice, such conduct warrants corrective rather than terminal action. “The modern inclination towards monitoring employees’ private online behavior, the so-called ‘Big Brother’ paradigm, has no place in industrial justice,” she said in the award handed down on Oct 30 and cited by Newswave.
AirAsia had dismissed Hiffny Yusof after claiming that he had posted inappropriate comments and remarks on social media that disparaged the company and its staff. He was employed in 2017 and dismissed five years later.
AirAsia rejected the steward’s explanation that he had posted it only on his closed social media accounts and that it was not meant for public viewing, saying that the company’s rules on such postings were clear.
Hiffny said the post was taken without consent from his Facebook and Instagram accounts. Citing a precedent, Pravin said the court found that while managerial prerogative formed an essential aspect of industrial discipline, it was not without limits. She said its exercise must be guided by proportionality and human dignity.
“The right to discipline does not extend to the surveillance of private thought or speech. “Fidelity ends where personal autonomy begins. The Industrial Court cannot condone perpetual oversight that transforms discipline into domination,” she said.
On the company’s reliance on its social media policies, Pravin said they were overly expansive. She said these policies, in purporting to sanction any negative or critical comment concerning the company or its staff regardless of audience, timing, or intent, intrude upon private autonomy and were inconsistent with Articles 5(1) and 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution.
“Industrial harmony is sustained not through censorship but through mutual trust and open dialogue. To penalize private venting of frustration is to engender fear rather than loyalty. Discipline must build confidence, not suppress dissent,” she said.
The chairman said that industrial justice must evolve with social realities, adding that employees do not surrender constitutional freedom upon entering employment. “A fair equilibrium must be maintained between the employer’s right to discipline and the employee’s right to dignity,” she said.
The flight steward was awarded back pay and compensation in lieu of reinstatement totaling RM31,920 for his five years of employment after a 20% deduction for contributory misconduct that led to his dismissal.
e-Industrial Court Public Portal
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