Extending support to agitating Jet Airways pilots, eight major trade unions have asked the airline management to take back the two pilots it had sacked and recognise the National Aviators Guild, which is spearheading the stir.
The airline is operating just 6-7 planes, with almost its entire fleet being grounded due to non-payment of rentals to lessors amid severe paucity of cash.
Around 650 pilots of the private air carrier Jet Airways will go on an indefinite strike on midnight of September 7 to protest sacking of two of their colleagues.
Takes decision after failure of first conciliation meeting.
Having lost their case in the Bombay High Court (HC) against deregistration of their union, Jet Airways pilots plan to go to an industrial tribunal.
The national carrier on Tuesday cancelled 37 of the 177 domestic flights and nine of the 21 international flights as more executive pilots reported 'sick'.
The Regional Labour Commissioner (Central Region) has decided to mediate between Jet Airways and its pilots who have issued a strike notice to protest the airline's decision of not reinstating two terminated employees.
The real mover and shaker behind the development that grounded India's largest airline remained mostly out of the public eye. That was 63-year-old NAG President Captain Girish Kaushik who was doing the heavy lifting in Delhi and Mumbai.
Though the Jet pilots' agitation is over and both sides have made peace, the Bombay High Court said is not ready to overlook the inconvenience five-day-long stir caused to passengers and violation of the chief justice's order.
At least 10 flights of Jet Airways and its subsidiary out of Delhi were cancelled on Tuesday as a large number of pilots did not report to work in protest against sacking of two of their colleagues, a move described as "sabotage of operation" by the airlines.
Jet Airways pilots along with engineers and senior executives have not been paid for the last three months.
'There will be no flying unless the company pays us substantial salaries and provides a road map,' the National Aviators Guild, the pilots union, said in a message to its members.
The guild, which claims to represent around 1,100 of the 1,600 Jet pilots, had earlier warned to go on strike from April 1, unless their salary dues were cleared and clarity was provided on future payments by March 31.
'When Etihad initiated their bid, it was conditional.' 'They said only if someone takes a 'haircut' would they be interested.'
The summer schedule of flights of all other domestic airlines such as Vistara, IndiGo, Air India and GoAir have been approved till October 26.
"We humbly request to you to alleviate some of the hardships that we and engineers have been facing, by ensuring that the new Jet management does not further delay our pending salaries dues at the earliest," NAG general secretary Tej Sood said in an e-mail to SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar.
The office, spread over 52,775 square feet carpet area, in Mumbai's suburban financial centre Bandra Kurla Complex, is on the fourth floor of the building 'Jet Airways Godrej BKC'.
The Aviation Industry Employees Guild will file a petition in the Bombay high court this week against a decision by the National Aviation Company to cut daily outstation and tour allowances within India by 50 per cent. Nacil was formed after merging Indian Airlines and Air India last year.
The pilots are also looking to take recourse to legal steps, including recovery proceedings against the company for salary, allowances and benefits
Jet Airways has been looking at various ways to raise funds amid acute liquidity crunch that has forced it to ground aircraft, cancel flights in large numbers, shutdown stations and delay salary payments to its pilots and engineers along with other senior staff.
The assurance to pilots came after a meeting between the two sides at the airline's headquarters in Mumbai on Wednesday, airline sources told PTI on Tuesday evening.
As part of cost reduction efforts, the full service carrier has asked its employees, including pilots, to take steep pay cuts
Jet's operating fleet reduced from 103 planes in October 2018 to 35 now, leading to massive cancellations and a surge in airfares
The Naresh Goyal-promoted private airline, in which UAE national carrier Etihad holds 24 per cent stake, is facing acute cash crunch after posting two back-to back quarterly losses this year.
Jet Airways' engineers, pilots and senior management have not been paid for January and February, besides 87.5 per cent of their December salary is also due.
A SpiceJet official allegedly told some Jet pilots that they were doing a "charity" by hiring them.
The petition said that acts of the Centre and DGCA were highly prejudicial to employees of the company who have been waiting to get paid for the last five months and have been looking forward to the resolution in bid process.
The pilots and other senior staff have not been getting their full salaries since December.
An expat pilot with Jet Airways hurled "racist" comments at and assaulted a woman and also abused a physically challenged person on a flight, cricketer Harbhajan Singh claimed.
The interim funding has not been forthcoming thus far, and as a result Jet has extended cancellation of international operations until April 18.
Jet Airways offers a huge packages toward arrears to pilots.
The new owners of Air India will have to retain all the employees of the national carrier for at least one year post which they can offer a VRS. The gratuity, pension fund and post retirement medical benefits of existing and past employees too would be honoured by the new owner, civil aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal said. Tata Sons has emerged as the winning bidder for Air India with the government accepting its Rs 18,000 crore offer to acquire 100 per cent of the debt-laden state-run carrier.
Airlines tell Arindam Majumder and Aneesh Phadnis they are forced to look at expats due to a lack of commanders, a position that requires experience.
Air India pilot unions IPG and ICPA on Monday sought Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's intervention on the wage cut issue and also requested for an "urgent" meeting with him on several other issues. "In our meetings in September, you had given us an assurance to look into our grievances positively. "While other airlines are rolling back the austerity pay cuts for their pilots, the wage cut for Air India pilots further increased from October.
Regretting the inconvenience caused to its passengers, the airline said that it continues to have adequate pilots and runs a safe and reliable scheduled operation with rising on-time performance.
In a letter to Air India Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Bansal, the ICPA said, "In the press conference by Honourable Minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri dated 16th July 2020, you had stated 'we are in negotiation with the pilots', which is far from reality." "It was not a negotiation, but the 'diktat' of the MoCA (ministry of civil aviation) which was conveyed to us. We would also like to place on record that the so-called negotiation was 'not harmonious' in any aspect," the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) noted.
. Therefore, it is now the government's urgent responsibility to end the impasse, restore confidence in the airline and its staff and allow it to continue with its recovery before it manages to sink it, once again.
Around 300 employees, carrying red flags, assembled in front of the old terminal in Delhi, shouting slogans against the management and demanding immediate payment of salaries. "The government cannot defer the salary as per the Payment of Wages Act. It must pay the salary by July 10. The company is not following the rules and regulations and taking decisions which is not in the interest of the employees," J B Kadiyan, general secretary, ACEU, said.
Some airports in the country could face disruption in movement of flights due to the strike.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances