Air India pilots plan strike against labour ministry move

ICPA which represents 670 pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines

Days after newly appointed Air India chief Ashwani Lohani appealed employees to put their best foot forward to revive its lost glory the airline’s pilot association has voted in favour of serving a strike notice to protest against a labour ministry notification that excludes flight commanders from workmen category.

Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), which represents 670 pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines, had a fortnight back decided to carry out “secret ballot” to decide whether they should go on strike.

“We would like to inform you (ICPA members) that we are overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and support shown by our members by participating in the secret ballot and all the four regions have voted for strike,” ICPA general secretary Praveen K Keerthi said in a communication to its members.

In a face-off with management, the pilot union on August 31 urged its members to not fly airplanes beyond prescribed duty hours. The pilot lobby further intensified the agitation with as many as 20 B787 pilots serving notice to the management for terminating their service.

The airline management is acting cautiously given the high cost of industrial relations breakdown. It had last week invited the union representatives for talks seeking to amicably settle the issues. The union members, however, did not turn up and stuck to their demand for re-instating status of commanders as workman and addressing salary related issues.