Saudi Arabian Airlines has played an enlightened role since its establishment. It was not just an airline; it was an advanced human development center contributing to society through its training programs that taught professional skills to thousands of its employees. It also helped them develop leadership skills that could not be developed in many other institutions.
The airline’s employees and their families benefited from many other privileges offered to them, including health services. Today, Saudi Arabian Airlines is going through a very important transitional phase: privatization. This step will give the chance of early retirement to older employees, though it deprives the employee’s parents of the usual health services.
I wrote an article once about the need to reevaluate this procedure, which denies the parents of an employee health services and treatment at the company’s expense. I add to that another problem related to deceased employees. The family loses all the privileges they had when the employee was alive, especially health related services. It’s very difficult for a family which has been used to receiving free medical treatment and care to adjust to this new reality. It is enough that they have to bear the loss of their loved one.
To continue its service, Saudi Airlines is required to continue providing health and medical services to the dependents of any employee after he retires or dies. It’s very important that the airline preserves the humanitarian approach it has followed since its establishment.
Khaled Al-Mulhim, director general of Saudia, now has two important chances in which he may distinguish himself: completing the privatization project and establishing humane values of loyalty to the company’s employees and their families. I believe that the humane perspectives of any company are as important as the economic ones.
