The National Union of Flight Attendants (Nufam) has reminded Human Resources Minister Richard Riot Jaem of his promise to take care of the welfare of those who were being let go by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) in 2014.

Nufam said this in reference to Riot's remark that the cases of former MAS employees will not be referred to the Industrial Court while refusing to provide justification.

"The minister was quoted in the media stating the ministry would help the workers and that their welfare and affairs will be looked after.

"So why is he not living up to his words now?" it said in a statement today.

The decision on not referring the cases to the Industrial Court only came to light after Nufam complained that the Human Resources Ministry had been non-responsive.

Some 3,600 out of around 6,000 retrenched MAS workers had applied to refer their cases to the Industrial Court.

"The union today had a busy day informing all those who were affected as many were not aware of the decision made by the minister. Many are upset since no letter was issued to them.

"It is very unfair of the minister to not refer these cases to court without a reason given," said Nufam.

Nufam questioned why the Human Resources Ministry had suddenly taken this path, as it had, during the early stages, been helpful to the retrenched workers in filing their cases for action in the Industrial Court.

"As a minister, he should take greater concern over the many retrenched workers in this country. Too many people are jobless these days. The MAS retrenchment was the biggest in employment history.

"If the airline went bankrupt then we could all understand, but the airline never filed for bankruptcy," it said.

Ultimately, Nufam said the top management of the ailing MAS was largely retained but some 6,000 people lost their jobs.

"The whole process was very lopsided," it said.

Nufam said it had submitted a letter of protest to the ministry to express dissatisfaction over its handling of the issue.