:: Editorial

Why was a 5-day strike necessary?

Sept.14 : With the management of India’s largest private sector carrier Jet Airways and the company’s pilots having finally arrived at an amicable settlement, the question that is being asked is whether the five-day standoff was at all necessary, given that both parties have got what they wanted and there has been no winner or loser. The financial loss to the company and the inconvenience suffered by passengers was, on the other hand, immense. Jet is believed to have suffered a revenue loss of around $8 million, besides losing one lakh customers. The only people who appeared to have gained were some low-cost airlines who were quick to fleece stranded Jet passengers by shamelessly hiking their online fares, almost forcing the government to intervene and stop such wanton harassment of air travellers. One can only hope that those who overcharged in this manner are compelled to refund the excess amounts to their passengers.

The memorandum of agreement signed by Jet’s management and the airline’s pilots shows there was "give and take" on both sides. So why could this not have been arrived at on the second or third day, or even before the five-day strike turned air travel into a nightmare for hundreds of thousands of Jet travellers across the country last week? Jet is understandably concerned about union activity, particularly after seeing what problems multiple trade unions have caused Air India in the past few decades. As a private airline which is answerable to its shareholders and having to compete with global giants, it cannot afford the kind of unionism which has plagued the national flag-carrier, not to mention a work culture that leaves much to be desired. The state airline has suffered considerable damage to its image due to the arbitrary actions of its pilots and engineers, who are among the highest-paid in the country despite having little to show in terms of productivity. It is no surprise that Jet’s chairman wanted to keep the malaise of the government sector out of his airline, at least for the present. The National Aviation Guild, the bone of contention between the management and Jet pilots, has been overtaken for the time being by the new consultative committee, which will include representatives of the airline management and the pilots, and there will be a continuous dialogue between the two to resolve past and current issues. One factor that has not come to the limelight is the role of foreigners in Jet’s management. The pilots claimed they were driven to setting up the guild because no action had been taken on some issues they had raised which had nothing to do with money. There was a feeling that foreigners in the management did not quite understand this country’s work culture, something that Jet chairman Naresh Goyal would have no difficulty with. This issue has been mentioned specifically in the memorandum for whatever it is worth.

Both Jet’s management and its pilots are to be blamed for the impasse that crippled the airline for five days. One lacunae in the system that became evident in this crisis was the lack of a mediator. The management tried to use its political clout to get the government to intervene and the pilots retaliated by getting some Congress and Shiv Sena leaders to issue statements in their favour and pontificate on the right to form a union. All this could have been avoided if the two parties had been brought to the discussion table as the chief labour commissioner eventually did, which saw the impasse brought to a positive conclusion. It was this that finally got the two sides talking and finding common ground.