The strike by pilots of Air India entered the second day on Thursday with about 80 flights, the bulk of them in the domestic sector, being either cancelled or curtailed. The strike is likely to continue as the national carrier decided to suspend booking for the next five days.
Yet another round of talks between the agitating pilots and the management, convened by the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) N.K. Prasad, failed. The management moved the Delhi High Court seeking contempt proceedings against the striking pilots for defying its order to report back to duty. The High Court came down heavily on the pilots for defying its order.
Meanwhile, Captain V.K. Bhalla, an executive pilot, was sacked for expressing solidarity with the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), taking the total number of dismissed pilots to seven.
The CLC initiated Thursday's round of talks after the first one on Tuesday failed, resulting in about 800 pilots, owing allegiance to the ICPA, going on strike. Responding to the strike, the Air India management derecognised the ICPA and sealed its offices in Delhi and Mumbai.
Sticks to stand
At the meeting with the CLC, the management stuck to its stand of not talking to a derecognised union, while the pilots demanded restoration of recognition for their union, de-sealing of the union offices, and reinstatement of those sacked and suspended.
Earlier in the day, Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the strike. He also apprised the Union Cabinet of festering issues that have arisen after the merger of Indian Airlines with Air India.
Though he fully backed the firm action by the Air India management, Mr. Ravi had on Wednesday appealed to the striking pilots to cooperate, call off their strike and help the national carrier tide over its financial crisis.
An Air India spokesman told journalists in the evening that 45 flights, representing 18 per cent of the total daily services, were curtailed on Thursday as part of a contingency plan, and another 26 were cancelled. The number was sure to go up later.
However, he said all flights by widebodied aircraft like Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 were normal, and some additional Boeing 747 flights were being operated in the Delhi-Mumbai sector, adding that all city pairs were hit.
On average, Air India is incurring a daily revenue loss of Rs.4 crore on account of the strike.
‘Part of the family'
The spokesman, however, said the striking pilots were “part of the Air India family” and that the management was keen to open dialogue with them.
“All issues can be resolved through talks. The expert committee, headed by Justice Dharmadhikari, a retired Supreme Court judge, is already looking into issues like pay parity. The question of not addressing such issues that have arisen post-merger does not arise,” the spokesman said.
In Mumbai, Captain Rishabh Kapur, sacked ICPA general secretary, demanded a CBI probe into the alleged mismanagement of Air India, which, he claimed, led to the huge losses suffered by the company after the merger.
He also demanded “ouster” of the management charging it with being responsible for taking measures that led to Air India becoming a loss-making company.
