NEW DELHI: Air India pilots have sought Tata Sons N Chandrasekaran‘s intervention to resolve the disagreement between them and the airline’s recently-announced work conditions and pay structure. This Wednesday the 2 unions — Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) of erstwhile Air India and Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) of erstwhile Indian Airlines — had warned of “industrial unrest” if the brand new phrases had been imposed on them. Hours later Air India administration took a troublesome stance and hit again saying there are “no recognised union in Air India” whereas saying it’ll “continue to engage with the remainder of its staff.”

Following this deadlock, IPG and ICPA on Friday issued a joint “appeal for personal intervention” of the group chairman. “Since Tata Group acquired Air India, we were hopeful and excited that we were now going to be under a house that is reputed to have the most holistic management style amongst leading organisations of the world…. Unfortunately, HR administration responsible for Air India workforce had little regard for the decades of experience. Instead, they appeared to be focused on dismantling, restructuring, or even replacing the human assets of the airline,” the joint attraction says.
“On April 17, the management (unveiled) a comprehensive overhaul of service conditions, which could be described as nothing short of exploitative…. entire workforce has now taken an unanimous decision to resist this measure. We earnestly implore the chairman to intervene and rectify the situation before it deteriorates any further… We urgently request an audience with you to discuss the matter at hand,” it says.

Air India pilots have rejected the brand new pay construction finalised for them by the airline. The greatest bone of rivalry is that beneath the brand new construction, they’re assured of 40 hours of flying allowance each month — down from 70 hours in pre-pandemic occasions.
Regarding the brand new pay construction for pilots and cabin crew, an Air India spokesperson this Wednesday stated the identical “is our endeavour to bring in parity among different groups, encourage productivity and boost emoluments. The managerial and supervisory role played by experienced pilots is also being recognised in the form of designating them as senior commander as also offering them a special monthly allowance… A large number of pilots and cabin crew have already accepted the new contracts, and the salary improvements and advancement opportunities they enable.”
The pilots’ illustration issued this Wednesday stated: “The term cost to the company for an assumed flying of 70 hours is deliberately misleading and creates an impression of a generous compensation and accompanying benefits package. The actual guaranteed money being offered is only for 40 hours. Effectively, any time a pilot is on leave or is unavailable due to recurrent training requirements or document/licence renewals not to mention any sick leave, there is an automatic pay cut involved.”