In a crackdown, Air India on Tuesday acked 10 agitating pilots, de-recognised their union and sealed its offices as around 160 of them failed to join duty, leading to cancellation of five international flights since midnight.
With Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh terming their agitation “illegal”, airline sources said more severe action was to follow if the pilots did not get back to work by 6 p.m. today.
Flights on Delhi-Toronto, Delhi-Chicago, Mumbai-Newark and Mumbai-Hong Kong via Delhi sectors were cancelled “due to unavailability of pilots,” an Air India spokesperson said.
With about 160 pilots not having joined duty, the services of at least 10 pilots, including office bearers of the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), which is leading the agitation, were terminated, the sources said.
While the IPG has been de-recognised, the sources said its offices in Mumbai and Delhi were sealed.
A section of Air India pilots owing allegiance IPG are agitating over the rescheduling of Boeing 787 Dreamliner training and matters relating to their career progression.
The Civil Aviation Minister termed the strike as “illegal” and said the management of the national carrier would take appropriate action against those involved in the stir.
“They are reporting sick. They have not given any notice for any strike. So whatever the Air India management rules and regulations, action will be taken accordingly,” Mr. Singh told reporters.
“The pilots have been told to return to work by today evening. And if they don’t, the management will take stern action against them,” the Air India spokesperson said.
The airline management has also started sending doctors to the houses of pilots who were reporting sick, the sources said.
Meanwhile, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-backed pilots’ body has said that it is open to negotiations with the management.
“We are open to negotiations at any given time,” Indian Pilots Guild president and NCP leader Jitendra Awhad told PTI.
The Civil Aviation Minister said the pilots went on sick leave in the midst of their talks with the management of Air India which has led to cancellation of flights.
Noting that Air India is currently going through a turbulent period and crores of rupees of public money were being infused to run the carrier, Mr. Singh said this was not the right time for such protests.
Agreeing that every section of employees had grievances and there were ways to find a solution, the Minister said the “strike is illegal.”
Keywords: AI pilots strike
How long are we to tolerate this blackmail and bluster by this bunch of AI Pilots who are hell bent on destroying Air India. Mr Ajit Singh pl do not negotiate. Just throw the entire gang . The need of the hour is Iron Fist and Whip. You should not buckle under political or Trade Union pressure. The entire country is with the AI management
It high time time for the national carrier managements to call off
the air line pilots bluff. The pilots have been at it too often
holding the nation to ransom under some pretext or the other. Time
to recall the gutsy decision of American Presidential Ronald Reagan
some fourteen year back to en mass terminate the services of striking 13,000 air traffic controllers when they unreasonably held
the nation to ransom, there by breaking their arrogant back. Air
India management too is faced with similar threat and should not
hesitate to be as tough.
If there is competition between a PSU and private companies, the PSU will ultimately be the loser. This is what is happening to AirIndia. It is easy to bribe top officials in the PSU whose decisions can break or make the company. When Praful Patel was Civil Aviation minister, Air India withdrew flights from all profitable routes. Did the CAG ever audit the losses incurred by AirIndia due to this decision ?
due to the strike.........many of the passanger from various regions are suffering a lot.....
On one side we have private companies who pay too less and employees have to work long hours otherwise they will be fired because there is no legal protection. On the other side we have govt. employees who do as much less work as possible and get all legal protection against firing. What a strange country ???
It is a cruel joke that pilots are playing on passengers who have to
go abroad for official work, resuming jobs, continuing studies in the
universities, meeting their relatives or relaxing tours. By owning
Air India and not taking drastic action to run this organization
efficiently it may appear that Government also wish to be a party to
the game played by many a times by Air India pilots on citizens of our
country. The past Civil Aviation Ministers were doling out tax payers
money in the name of making Air India efficient and profit making and
what has happened is well known. At least now the present minister for
civil aviation and prime minister open their eyes and take urgent
action to sell this sinking organization which will help to reduce
budget deficit.
The management must deal this with a firm hand. B 787 is not the personal domain of IPG members who are trying to push for command status for absolutely inexperienced pilots. There are far more experienced captains in the ICPA wing. The management should realise that these pilots cannot go anywhere. Many of them may not make the grade to work in international airlines. The domestic scene is bleak. they have taken the correct step in cancelling the international flights. Terminate them if they don't join back and make them sign a clear undertaking that the airline interest is superior to the personal agenda.
The national carrier Air India has a serious problem for quite some time and the genious brains in government are thinking and thinking a lot but hardly with any success. Now we have to refer this problem to institutes like IIMA and ISB to examine in detail and submit a report in 3 months which must be a guiding factor for further course. Also, the govt. must do allout efforts to improve occupancy ratio with better services and performance.
Why don't Air India just say we are incompetent, we have gone belly up and sell the airlines to someone who knows how to run the business. International fights were affected but not the domestic ones. AI already has a fascinating reputation. What a way to "popularize" the National shame on international grounds. Atleast this time did AI inform the passangers about the cancellation?? or did they forget the $80,000 fine already??
And this is at the time when there are 5000 unemployed pilots in India?
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