Taking a serious view of the strike by a section of Air India employees, the government on Wednesday asked the management to take 'strong' and 'decisive' action against them as they have indulged in an 'irresponsible' behaviour causing inconvenience to travellers.
But if the minister signals that he is on the side of the unions on key staff issues, he reduces the management's scope of action as well as the likelihood of better service.
Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said the demands of the striking Air India employees could not be accepted.
'It is very clear that Air India cannot be managed by the government.' 'Air India should be run as a separate profit entity.'
On Monday, the five independent directors of the company -- Anand Mahindra of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's secretary general Amit Mitra, Ambuja Realty chairman Harsh Neotia and former air chief Fali H Major -- met Prime Minister's principal secretary T K A Nair and reportedly expressed their anguish over the appointments being made by the company.
A section of Air India employees have deferred its proposed strike from December 22 following an assurance from the NACIL management to look into their grievances. The employees owing allegiance to the Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU), which is one of the unions of the erstwhile Indian Airlines, had on December 7 threatened to go on strike from December 22 alleging that the management had violated a conciliation pact signed with its representatives.
A section of Air India employees owing allegiance to ACEU has threatened to strike work from December 22 to protest the management's proposed move to withdraw some facilities now available to them from January 1.
Warning the employees of 'firm' action if flights were disrupted and passengers inconvenienced, the staff notice issued by Air India said the agitation by the Joint Action Forum would violate the Industrial Disputes Act and was 'tantamount to illegal strike. All employees are aware that the company is going through a critical financial situation and, at this stage, any disruption to flights will adversely affect the image of the company.'
The airline had earlier issued a 'non-acceptance order' to all its station managers and booking offices.
An Air India employee was arrested and another detained early on Tuesday for allegedly molesting a nine-year-old girl at NSC Bose International airport in Kolkata.
The panel, which is a sub-committee of the Air India board, was set up on Tuesday following which the executive pilots withdrew their five-day long agitation against slashing of their productivity-linked incentive and flying allowance by half.
A draft note on equity infusion in Air India, prepared by the civil aviation ministry, is being sent to Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
Junior Civil Aviation Minister G M Siddeshwara told Parliament that disciplinary action has been taken against the employees.
However, even as the ACEU claimed there would be disruption of flights during that time, the A-I management made it clear they had not backed out on their commitments and had told unions they would pay the salaries by July 3 or 4. However, even as the ACEU claimed there would be disruption of flights during that time, the A-I management made it clear they had not backed out on their commitments and had told unions they would pay the salaries by July 3 or 4.
A proposed strike by almost all sections of Air India employees next Tuesday on various demands, including implementation of agreements relating to wages and cadre policy, has been declared illegal.After a meeting on Saturday, top officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry and the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), which runs Air India, decided to "take serious view" if the employees went ahead with their threat, official sources said.
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.
Flights will be disrupted on Thursday when 15 unions covering pilots, cabin crew and ground staff, go on a 24-hour strike to demand revocation of tax on free and concessional air travel passes.
The government proposes to divest 76 per cent of Air India, along with its shareholding in Air India Express and its ground-handling subsidiary, AISATS.
As a member of Parliament, I am aware of the number of complaints raised against Air India's crew, Gaikwad said.
Flight operations were not affected at all, an Air India spokesperson said, as the protestors, under the banner of unions affliated to Shiv Sena's Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, gathered at the domestic airport and staged a noisy demonstration.
Gaikwad booked a seat on flight AI 806 from Mumbai to Delhi for Wednesday earlier on Tuesday through his staff which was promptly cancelled by the airline. This was followed by another attempt to book a seat on AI 551 from Hyderabad to Delhi, again for on Wednesday, which was cancelled, too.
Chaos ensued in the Lower House as Ashok Gajapathi Raju refused to heed the demand of revoking the flying ban on Ravindra Gaikwad.
Als0 looking to make its staff accountable for delay in operations
Air India is running into losses
While Air India employees are contributing a day's salary to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund, its pilots have offered to forego their allowances to operate to Dehradun.
The unions claimed that wrong policy decisions of the previous government, poor practices, lack of accountability and general mismanagement by top administration and allowing private carriers to flourish at the cost of Air India were some of the factors for the current state-of-affairs
The Central Bureau of Invesigation on Monday approached the Rajya Sabha secretariat seeking documents related to fake travel bills allegedly submitted by a Janata Dal-United MP against whom a case has been registered for making such claims.
Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said, "All airlines have come together banning him (Gaikwad), but it is our fundamental right (to travel by air)."
What the celebrations overlook is that the law covered cyber crime which users will now be vulnerable to.
The biggest challenge is not the airline's debt, but downsizing its 16,800 employees, says Surajeet Dasgupta.
The Rajya Sabha approved 15 legislations during the session while the Lok Sabha passed 23 bills, including the GST bills.
'The DGCA may require airlines to install CCTV cameras on all flights and retain the footage in case of unruly behaviour.' 'Else, it would be left to individual interpretation of the involved parties.'
Gaikwad was travelling from Pune to New Delhi when the scuffle broke out over the sitting arrangement.
Air India is in a better state now than it was when Lohani's predecessor took over in 2011, four years after a merger with state-run carrier Indian Airlines.
The national carrier has drawn a blueprint to cut the number of recognised unions in the airline from 15 to two -- one for pilots and another for the rest of the employees.
"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.
Air India must tighten costs to comes out of the red or it wil perish in no time, says experts.
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