Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 20

India’s national carrier Air India (AI) continues to remain embroiled in controversies around its decision to send its employees on ‘leave without pay’ as the Indian Commercial Pilot Association (ICPA) cautions the management against the decision.

In a letter to Air India Chief Managing Director Rajiv Bansal, ICPA warned that such a situation has “the potential to flare up trouble to an unprecedented magnitude”.

“Any unilateral change by Air India from agreed-upon wage settlement would be illegal and will not be in the interest of our National Carrier at this crucial juncture,” read the letter.

While the pilots’ body said it supported temporary austerity measures in the wake of economic distress triggered by the pandemic, it slammed the Air India management for its proposal with regards to restructuring of wages.

“In the press conference held by (Civil Aviation) Minister Hardeep Singh Puri dated July 16th, 2020 you had stated ‘we are in negotiation with the pilots’, which is far from reality. It was not a negotiation, but the diktat of MoCA, which was conveyed to us,” stated the ICPA.

“We would also like to place on record that the so called negotiation was ‘not harmonious’ in any aspect,” it added.

The Air India management has proposed a sharp salary cut — nearly 60 per cent — for pilots. It also took a call to send air hostesses and stewards on compulsory leave without pay.

Meanwhile, domestic carrier IndiGo announced to lay off 10 per cent of its workforce due to disruptions in operations caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

IndiGo’s chief executive officer Ronojoy Dutta said: “From where things stand currently, it is impossible for our company to fly through this economic storm without making some sacrifices, in order to sustain our business operations.”

“Therefore, after carefully assessing and reviewing all possible scenarios, it is clear that we will need to bid a painful adieu to 10 per cent of our workforce. It is for the first time in the history of IndiGo that we have undertaken such a painful measure,” said Dutta.