Following Ethiopian's record profit last fiscal year, most of the employees went to the meeting expecting 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 make the increment. 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 had made a 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 construction firm to undertake the construction of the houses. However, most of the employees complain that the prices of the houses are beyond their means.

The employees have deposited some amount of money as advance payment for the housing project. Some of them, however, are withdrawing out from the housing association they formed and rushing to the Addis Ababa City Administration in search of condominium houses.

Several employees asked the management for explanation on the matter. The CEO said that there no change would be made on the housing project.  

Last August, Ethiopian revealed that it earned a net profit of 1.345 billion birr in the 2008-2009 fiscal year, representing a whopping increase of 165 percent year-on-year. The airline generated 12.2 billion birr in operating revenue during the fiscal year, a 32.8 percent increase over the previous year.