The Justice Dharmadhikari Committee, tasked with addressing issues of staff integration, restructuring and wage rationalisation of Air India (AI) and erstwhile Indian Airlines (IA) employees, has recommended linking of salaries and allowances of airline staff with the department of public
enterprises (DPE) guidelines.
The committee, formed in May last year after pilots belonging to erstwhile IA struck work demanding parity in wages with AI pilots, submitted its report to aviation minister Ajit Singh on Tuesday. Sources said it had provided a roadmap for level mapping, pay fixation and career progression in AI.
Even three years after the merger, AI does not have a uniform code guiding salaries, promotions and allowances of employees belonging to the two erstwhile carriers.
"Salaries would remain more or less the same but the wage structure has to be as per DPE guidelines of 1994. Salary would be divided into basic pay and allowances and the latter cannot be more than 50% of the basic pay. This would mean that basic pay would have to be increased, which would increase retirement benefits," a source said.
For pilots, the committee has recommended, continuation of flying and other allowances.
"The committee has made its recommendations and it is up to the government to fix salaries for each grade of employees," sources said.
The government would now study the report, which could take up to two months. If accepted, the committee recommendation would override all previous agreements between the management and employee unions.
AI has 32,235 employees and the total salary bill for fiscal 2011 was Rs. 3,708 crore.
"It's more than 100 pages and there are so many people involved in it - the pilots, the other people in the airline management. The Ministry will examine the report and then do whatever that needs to be done," Singh said.