E-Paper
Air India unions ask aviation minister to end pilots’ strike
Six Air India unions comprising cabin crew personnel, engineers and commercial staff sent a letter to civil aviation minister Ajit Singh on Sunday asking him to end the strike by long haul international route pilots that entered the seventh week on Tuesday.
Six Air India unions comprising cabin crew personnel, engineers and commercial staff sent a letter to civil aviation minister Ajit Singh on Sunday asking him to end the strike by long haul international route pilots that entered the seventh week on Tuesday.
The Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG) started the agitation last month against the airline’s decision to allow its domestic fleet pilots to train on the newly inducted Boeing 787 aircraft. The letter says the minister had asked pilots to resume work by 6pm on May 8. “Five hours before the deadline, the management de-recognised the union and started issuing termination letters to pilots ruling out possibility of any dialogue,” said a senior officer bearer of the forum.
Last year, when the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) went on a 10-day strike asking for pay parity, the union was de-recognised and its office bearers’ services were terminated. The Air Corporation Employee Union and Air India Aircraft Engineers Associations were de-recognised in 2010. “We want to inform the minister about how the management has been a failure in handling industrial unrest,” said another member.
