The move provides some relief to India’s aviation industry. (Representative)
Technicians at the company that repairs and maintains Air India Ltd’s planes called off a proposed strike on Tuesday, allaying concerns that industrial action could reignite travel chaos.
Employees of AI Engineering Services Limited – a government company that counts Air India as its top customer – will not go ahead with their plans after the management agreed to meet some of their demands. This includes revising workers’ wages by the end of the month and providing opportunities for career advancement until May 31, according to a joint letter from the company’s chief human resources officer and union secretary seen by Bloomberg News. It says the new measures will be valid for four years.
The move provides some relief to India’s aviation industry. Travel plans were thrown into disarray earlier this month when Vistara, jointly owned by Air India owner Tata Group and Singapore Airlines Ltd, called in pilots calling in mass sick leave, nearly a week after More than 100 flights were forced to be canceled during the pandemic. Complaints of fatigue and salary cuts.
While widespread cancellations have stopped, the airline reduced its roster by 25 to 30 flights per day to create a buffer. Air India pilots have joined their Vistara counterparts in complaining of overwork and low pay, saying the issues are systemic in Tata’s aviation empire.
AI engineering employees previously said they were frustrated by a lack of career advancement opportunities, including not being promoted for seven years. And while the management had promised a revised pay structure for technicians who have worked with the firm for at least two years, they did not follow through, according to a letter earlier this month.
Additionally, contract workers who make up 75% of the company’s workforce feel discriminated against because they have to work longer notice periods and are not given many of the same benefits as permanent employees, it said. .
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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