Air India unions warn on new service agreement
The airline on April 17 announced details of a new remuneration system and began rolling out offer letters, unveiling pay grades and new service conditions that pilots’ unions called “exploitative”.
Air India’s pilot unions on Monday warned they will go to “any extent” if any of their members is fired for not signing the airline’s new service agreement, plunging the company’s new owner Tata Sons attempt to what it has described as a “transformation plan” into jeopardy.
The airline on April 17 announced details of a new remuneration system and began rolling out offer letters, unveiling pay grades and new service conditions that pilots’ unions called “exploitative”.
A resolution was passed on Monday jointly by the airline’s Boeing pilots’ union (Indian Pilots Guild) and Airbus pilots’ union (Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association) and pilots who spoke to HT on condition of anonymity said the options include legal action – they have already sent the airline one notice -- and work strikes.
An Air India spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.
Tata Sons took over the airline in January, 2022, after years of the government trying to disinvest it due to mounting losses. The company has since decided to merge its other airline businesses, Vistara and AirAsia with it, in a sweeping overhaul of which the pay revisions are also a part.
Among the new terms are changes in hourly flying rates and a minimum guarantee of flying allowance for 40 hours, up from 20 hours, but still lower than the industry standard of 70 hours, pilots said at the time.
{{/usCountry}}Among the new terms are changes in hourly flying rates and a minimum guarantee of flying allowance for 40 hours, up from 20 hours, but still lower than the industry standard of 70 hours, pilots said at the time.
{{/usCountry}}The new pay scales, they added, also had little improvements for remunerations of senior pilots, and was to benefit only junior aviators, who were seen as being underpaid.
{{/usCountry}}The new pay scales, they added, also had little improvements for remunerations of senior pilots, and was to benefit only junior aviators, who were seen as being underpaid.
{{/usCountry}}But Monday’s objections were centred around the new terms and conditions that the staff said would make it easy for pilots to be sacked.
{{/usCountry}}But Monday’s objections were centred around the new terms and conditions that the staff said would make it easy for pilots to be sacked.
{{/usCountry}}“The management did not consult the pilot before coming up with such working terms. We are protesting the behaviour of the management towards the pilots who are the backbone of the airline,” an ICPA member told HT on Monday, asking not to be named.
{{/usCountry}}“The management did not consult the pilot before coming up with such working terms. We are protesting the behaviour of the management towards the pilots who are the backbone of the airline,” an ICPA member told HT on Monday, asking not to be named.
{{/usCountry}}The ICPA and IPG on Friday sent a legal notice to Air India, alleging that the airline had been coercing its members to sign the revised service agreements individually.
The April 17 announcement is likely to affect at least 2,700 pilots across Air India, Air Asia India and Air India Express brands, and 5,600 Air India cabin crew.
“None of us are going to sign the new terms. By introducing the new terms, the pilots are being subjected to unfair treatment and are being subjected to a hostile work environment,” a senior airline pilot told HT. “As a result of this, the entire workforce has now taken a unanimous decision to resist this measure,” he added.
Both unions on Friday urged the Tata chief N Chandrasekaran to intervene and rectify the situation before “it deteriorates any further”.
The pilots said that they believe there are around 18 grounds in the new offer letters under which the company can terminate a pilot without any notice or compensation, including non-adherence to any of the policies, any act, whether on duty or otherwise, which can be prejudicial to the interest of the company in any manner. “This will include any infraction they want to conjure up from thin air,” the pilots quoted above said.
“For example, tomorrow, if a pilot has fatigue after a flight and reports the same, he can be dragged through an elaborate harassment loop and be terminated as unfit to make an example to others,” this person said.
A third pilot said pending staff leave had also been liquidated. “Our earned leaves from decades of loyal service have been forcibly liquidated. At the same time, the management has not even told us how many leave days or types of leaves they plan to give us. They are just asking for a blind consent to implement any leave or insurance policy they want. After we sign this, they are free to change/withdraw these policies unilaterally,” this person said, asking not to be named.
On the terms and conditions, an internal communication of the union noted, for instance: “Any pilot in the new ‘management cadre’ can be transferred to a non-flying department on any flimsy pretext to ensure their license currency can be forcibly lapsed and cut off their source of livelihood.”
“We are fighting for the dignity of our profession and the legitimate expectation of having a say in our professional future. We are fighting against undue exploitation of our labour,” it added.
The pilots alleged that as per the new offer letter, the airline requires the pilots to do ‘other duties’ from time to time as well as allows the airline to change their designations whenever it wants.
“The scope and nature of these duties have not been defined, nor has any option to refuse or remuneration been offered for this ‘extra work’. Amusingly, there may be a pay cut involved too. We will leave it to your imagination as to how the management can play around with this clause and whether this kind of nonsense is an acceptable expectation from an employer from an employee in any kind of industry,” their internal communication read.