Pilots urge AI to revoke sack orders
14 May 2012 7:41 AM IST
The crisis in Air India worsened on Sunday with its executive pilots coming out in support of striking pilots, asking the management to revoke sack orders and hold immediate negotiations to end the six-day impasse, as at least 20 international flights were cancelled.
The striking pilots, while stating that they were ready for talks, showed no signs of returning to work, leaving hundreds of passengers fretting with holiday schedules going haywire.
Empathising with the demands of the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) spearheading the agitation, the Executive Pilots’ Association (EPA) blamed the management for the ‘complete failure’ of integration of the two airlines leading to the industrial relations between management and employees ‘to fall to an all time low’.
Charging the management with violating all service conditions of pilots and the agreements with them ‘in the name of merger’, the EPA sought reinstatement of all terminated pilots and restoring the recognition of the IPG. AI has terminated the services of 71 striking pilots. In a letter to the AI management, the EPA said they are not in ‘agreement with the methods adopted by the IPG’.
‘We strongly feel the company should reconsider the [Boeing-] 787 Manpower Planning policy and maintain the pre-merger status quo until the contentious issues of pilot’s seniority and HR integration are resolved,’ it said.
The striking pilots, while stating that they were ready for talks, showed no signs of returning to work, leaving hundreds of passengers fretting with holiday schedules going haywire.
Empathising with the demands of the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) spearheading the agitation, the Executive Pilots’ Association (EPA) blamed the management for the ‘complete failure’ of integration of the two airlines leading to the industrial relations between management and employees ‘to fall to an all time low’.
Charging the management with violating all service conditions of pilots and the agreements with them ‘in the name of merger’, the EPA sought reinstatement of all terminated pilots and restoring the recognition of the IPG. AI has terminated the services of 71 striking pilots. In a letter to the AI management, the EPA said they are not in ‘agreement with the methods adopted by the IPG’.
‘We strongly feel the company should reconsider the [Boeing-] 787 Manpower Planning policy and maintain the pre-merger status quo until the contentious issues of pilot’s seniority and HR integration are resolved,’ it said.
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