Former captain Anil Kumble said that many of the recommendations of the Lodha Committee report would be good for Indian cricket if they are implemented. "Many of the aspects of Justice Lodha recommendations are really good, especially the proposal to form Steering Committee of Players' Association. "If implemented, it will be good for Indian cricket," Kumble told reporters. The Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Panel had recommended the formation of players' association by a four-member steering committee comprising former union home secretary G K Pillai (chairperson) and former India cricketers Mohinder Amarnath, Kumble and Diana Edulji (ex-Indian women's team captain), to raise their concerns.
Divestment-bound Air India's pilot unions have rejected the paltry five per cent rollback in their salary cuts and warned of "industrial action" if there is no "substantial" reversal in their paycuts. In a joint letter to Air India chairman and managing director Rajiv Bansal on Thursday, the Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG) and the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) said, "(The) pittance in the form of a five per cent decrease in the current wage cut is an outright insult, its sting magnified in light of our unwavering support and trust in this company." They said this "generosity" amounts to a reduction of about 3 per cent in the current gross pay cut for pilots. In April, Air India had reduced its pilots' salary by up to 70 per cent to partially offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its finances.
IndiGo, India's largest airline, is in talks to raise fresh funds as a second wave of pandemic has led to collapse in travel demand. The airline may look to raise Rs 3,500-4,000 crore. On Monday, only 97,761 passengers flew. With flyers cancelling bookings, airlines had to put aside flights and operated only 1,306 of them.
A letter notifying that the flights were being operated by ICPA members 'under protest and without prejudice to their rights' has been issued to GM operations (In-charge Airbus Fleet).
A pilot's body on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has no locus to pass an order asking Air India pilots and cabin crew to put in more flying hours by changing the flight duty time limitations (FDTL).
A section of Air India pilots numbering about 800 decided to go on strike on demanding pay parity and better working conditions and their action is likely to cause disruption of flights of the state-owned carrier on Wednesday. According to Rishab Kapoor, the general secretary of the Indian Commercial Pilots Association, the pilots will go on strike from midnight on Tuesday.
Pilots's association says the ministry is not serious about its assurance.
"Under the contingency plan, we are operating 50 flights across the network today," an Air India official said. From Delhi, the national carrier will be operating just 10 flights and almost an equal number from Mumbai to metro cities.
A section of Air India pilots, who have threatened to go on strike tomorrow demanding pay parity and better working conditions, on Tuesday, met the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) as part of the conciliation process.
Bench has given them two weeks to respond to the contempt notices.
Air India top brass on Thursday met leaders of two pilots' unions and assured them that their problems would be looked into, especially those relating to the wage structure.
The Indian Commercial Pilots Association on Thursday threatened to file a defamation suit against Muslim League Member of Parliament Abdul Wahab for calling a pilot a 'glorified driver' after allegedly barging into the cockpit of an Air India aircraft two days ago.
The de-boarding of a Kerala MP from an Air India aircraft today erupted into a major row with the Parliamentarian being accused of calling the pilot a "glorified driver" while the politician threatened to move Parliament's Privileges Committee on the issue.
There were nearly 4,000 cabin crew with Jet when the airline was grounded; every fifth remains without a job to date. One cabin crew member with 10 years of experience has been forced to take up a teaching job; some have branched out into small businesses. Aviation jobs were scarce even before the Covid-19 pandemic arrived on Indian shores in early 2020. The situation has been exacerbated since.
The Pakistan captain said that having led the side for five years Sourav Ganguly understood his players better.
The ICPA vice-president said his body will represent players on all issues.
As fitness screening for pilots after the recent Germanwings crash come under scanner, mid-term psychometric tests for pilots of Indian air carriers are being mulled by the government to detect any cockpit crew who are too mentally ill to fly.
Trouble is again brewing in Air India ahead of the upcoming busy holiday season, with a section of pilots resenting a proposed 15 per cent cut in their allowances, saying such a reduction would place their pay packets below what was prevailing in the market.
The national carrier currently has 15 recognised trade unions.
"Unless he tenders an unconditional apology to AI employees, and undertakes in writing to abide by the Chicago and Tokyo Conventions & Rules of the Air and follow all cabin safety and public behaviour norms, we must not let him on board," says the letter.
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