Fat Indian aircrew fight over grounding

NEW DELHI—A group of air hostesses, embroiled in a legal battle with national carrier Indian after it grounded them without pay for being too fat to fly, said on Tuesday they would continue their fight for justice.
Eleven women say they have suffered from low self-esteem after being grounded by the state-run airline for being between a few hundred grams and three kilograms (6.6 lbs) over the firm’s specified weight limit.
“The company told me that I was above the limit and that I should go home until I had lost the excess weight,” said 48-year-old Sheela Joshi, who was found to be 500 grams above her allowed 63 kilos.
“I had to go on a serious diet and it took me over one and a half months to lose weight and I wasn’t paid by the company. It was a stressful period, and I lost confidence in myself.”
Around 140 employees were grounded after a statement in May warned staff they would be banned from flying if found to be over a fixed weight based on criteria such as age and height.
The women, whose case will now come up in Delhi’s High Court in March, say they want the company to pay their salaries for the time they were grounded and to withdraw the May circular which they say is a breach of constitutional rights.
Although weight guidelines have always been in place, employees were previously allowed to weigh in at up to three kilograms above them.
The women, most in their forties and who have worked for the firm for 20 years, say Indian wants to replace mature crew with skinnier women to survive in a highly competitive industry.—Agencies