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Airport strike off but Left says it?s not over
STRIKING AIRPORT employees, protesting against the modernisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports through private participation, returned to work on Saturday. This was seemingly after the government, the Left parties and the striking Airport unions, got a satisfying face-saving formula.
STRIKING AIRPORT employees, protesting against the modernisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports through private participation, returned to work on Saturday. This was seemingly after the government, the Left parties and the striking Airport unions, got a satisfying face-saving formula.
The strike had not been called off on Friday after the Left and union leaders met the PM and the civil aviation minister. Asserting that the decision to modernise the airports would not be reversed, the PM had appealed for the strike to be called off.
The government’s position did not change much on Saturday. The only concession the unions got was Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's written assurance that a tripartite committee would be set up of ministry representatives, the Airport Authority of India and the Joint Forum of AAI employees' unions to look into the modernising issue and also the employees’ job security. “It is reiterated there will be no victimisation (of employees on strike),” he said.
Meanwhile, the Left parties said they won't easily condone the government's insistence on “privatising” the Delhi and Mumbai airports.
The four parties will meet on Sunday to chalk out a plan on the issue. In the past, the parties had stayed out of the UPA-Left Coordination Committee to express their indignation over the BHEL disinvestment issue.
The airport strike had the support of the Left parties, as they were opposed to the government's plan to award modernisation contracts to private bidders. Left leaders also wanted the government to seriously consider the employees' proposal to allow the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to carry out the job. The government is yet to “explain” why it didn't consider AAI suitable for the job.
The CPI and CPI(M) announced that the “struggle” against privatisation of airports would continue while the RSP regretted that the Left had “failed to prevent the privatisation of airports”.
“The government will have to make certain things clear at the political level,” CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan said.
