This Guy Lost His Job For Posting A Video Of Politicians Being Kicked Out Of A Plane
Arjumand Azhar Hussain — the man who filmed the video of Pakistani politicians responsible for delaying a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight for over 2 hours on 16 September — was fired from his job.
By Sadho Ram — 02 Oct 2014, 03:03 AM — Updated about 10 years ago
On 15 September 2014, a PIA flight was delayed for over two hours due to two Pakistani politicians. Following which, a mob of 250 angry passengers barred both the VIPs from boarding it.
The whole incident, filmed and uploaded online by Arjumand Hussain, prompted anger and ridicule against the parliamentarians on social media, and made Hussain a social media hero there
i m the guy @HussainArjumand who booted @SenRehmanMalik from PIA pic.twitter.com/P05IrsQ8Nn
— Arjumand Hussain (@HussainArjumand) September 18, 2014
@HussainArjumand We are all so proud of you. Would love to see the same amount of courage when an army general is involved. @IftikharFirdous
— Barkhurdar Achakzai (@BarkhurdarAchak) September 19, 2014
While he was praised widely for 'standing up to VIP culture', Hussain, who held a senior role at multinational courier and logistics company called Gerry's Group, soon faced troubles
Speaking to Quartz from Karachi, Hussain said he was told on his return from Islamabad after that incident that the company was doing away with his position and he should resign. He worked as vice president for corporate development.
qz.com
“When I came back to Islamabad, I had a feeling that something was going to happen, and it happened”, said Arjumand Hussain while talking to Mubashir Luqman in his Kharra Sach program. “I was simply told that the company had made my job redundant and that I should resign”, he explained.
voiceofjournalists.comNow, Hussain has been fired by the local licensee of FedEx in Pakistan. Hussain, who said he was given no reason for his dismissal, doesn't regret standing up against "VIP culture."
“I was requested to resign, so I wasn’t really fired,” says Hussain calmly. He says he was not given a reason for the request, nor was he offered a compensation package or a notice period.
“I don’t have evidence of political interference and obviously no one will come forward and accept it. But they said it was a performance-related issue, which I’m sure is not the case as it was never a problem till that day.” He had been working at the company for a year by then.
scroll.in“I have no regrets,” Hussain says, referring to the video he shot. “I was very polite, but I had to tell Mr Rehman Malik to leave PK-370. He is a very pleasant gentleman and I have nothing personal against him. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
After his termination, the company issued a statement (now deleted) early on Tuesday saying he was terminated 'purely based on merit' and not for his involvement in the PIA incident
The company has issued a clarification on its Facebook page saying the sacking was unrelated to politics. “Recently there has been flood of tweets and comments on Facebook backlashing Gerry’s Group in response to sacking of Mr. Arjumand Hussain, Former General Manager Fedex Gerry’s Group who played protagonist against VIP culture on PIA flight. We feel it is very important that we convey to people the other side of story.” The company says the decision was taken on merit.
qz.com
However, within hours of his dismissal, Hussain found a surge in support on on social media platforms. Using #ShameOnGerrys, many accused the company of being politically influenced.
@MoeedNj Gerry's has announced that the decision was based on merit, but even if it was, the timing was inappropriate. #ShameOnGerrys
— Faheem Azam (@FaheemAzam1) October 1, 2014
Arjumand Azhar had the balls to stand up for what was right , his sacking , despite what they say , is shameful #ShameOnGerrys
— waleed (@weirdwilli) October 1, 2014
act of @GerrysGroup is not acceptable in civilized world #ShameOnGerrys it highly unethical what you have done. @FedEx
— Rehan Azher (@rehanazher) October 1, 2014
Everyone in Pakistan should boycott #Gerrys. They fired a brave Pakistani for standing up for his country. #ShameOnGerrys
— Rizwan Zaidi (@zaidi_riz) September 30, 2014
If Arjmand Hussain is fired to stand against #VIPCulture then Gerrys group pack up ur business. #ShameOnGerrys pic.twitter.com/GW8Qxpfk8X
— Ayesha Khan (@AnsHafeez) September 30, 2014
On being asked if the company hires him back, would he go back to Gerry's, Hussain, however, said, "I will never go back to Gerry's"
“I am not a political worker. I am a follower of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. My worry, right now, is my next salary, as Eid is coming up. I have a family to look after,” he says. He adds that his family has been very supportive of his decision.