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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Air India Unions Threaten Strike to Retain Staff Quarters

Nearly 7000 People Reside in These Quarters

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Raju Vernekar
Raju Vernekar
Raju Vermekar is a senior Mumbai-based journalist who have worked with many daily newspapers. Raju contributes on versatile topics.

INDIA. Mumbai: The Air India employees have threatened to go on strike from November 02 onwards, as a protest against the authorities directions to vacate the staff quarters within six months after the sale of the airline.

The employees have been asked to give an undertaking by October 20 that they will vacate the staff quarters within six months after the procedure of sale of Air India is complete. If their fail to submit the undertaking the action will be taken against them.

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On Wednesday Joint Committee of AI employees’ unions wrote to Air India General Manager (Industrial Relations) Meenakshi Kashyap,urging that the employees be allowed to retain their quarters till they retire. The letter was signed by office bearers of the Aviation Industry Employees’ Guild, including Prashant Pol,Rahit Pagare, M P Desai, and Gorge Abraham. The letter was also signed by the All India Service Engineers’ Association President Vilas Giridhar. A copy of the letter was sent to the Central Labour Commissioner.

Over 1600 AI employees reside at the Air India colony at Kalina in Santacruz East in northwest Mumbai. Cumulatively nearly 7000 people reside in these quarters. Air India occupies 184 acres of land in Kalina which formerly belonged to the government-owned Airports Authority of India(AAI) and was later passed to GVK when the Mumbai airport was privatized. It will now belong to the Adani Group, which has recently taken over the Mumbai airport.

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Those who reside in the official AI quarters, do not get the House Rent Allowance (HRA) which is about Rs 5000 to Rs 6000 per month. If they leave the quarters, they may be entitled to that. But the employees say that even if they get the HRA, they will not be able to get the house on rent with that amount.

“The AI colonies have been set up on the land belonging to the AAI and Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) is a tenant. Thousands of unauthorized hutments have sprung up on the land allotted to the MIAL. Whether the AI will serve notices to these hutment dwellers too? the employees have asked. If the quarters are vacated, the land will be in the possession of the MIAL, which is now under the Adani Group. Why so hurry to hand over the land to the Adanis? the unions have asked.

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In another development, the Joint Committee of AI employeesunions has requested Union Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal to look into the matter“We urge you to intervene on behalf of the Air Indians who reside in these colonies, to permit them to reside in them for an inexpensive interval of not less than 12 months. Because the new purchaser is offering workers with one-year employment assure, the colony facility ought to not less than be co-terminus with that date, if not till VRS is offered”, the Joint Committee comprising pilots, cabin crew, and floor employees unions stated.

In the meanwhile the Central Government has asked Tata Sons who have won the bid for Air India, not to sack the employees at least for one year. But the group can offer the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) in the second year.

Soon after announcing that Tata Sons has won the bid for Air India, the Central government on Friday listed several conditions before Tata Group. Giving details, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kant Pandey said the Tatas cannot transfer the Air India brand or logo for at least 5 years. However, the group can transfer it after 5 years only to an Indian person. The Central government has put in Rs 54,584 crores since 2009-10 as cash support and Rs 55,692 crore as guarantee support for Air India which is a total of Rs 1,10,276 crore, he added.

Author

  • Raju Vernekar

    Raju Vermekar is a senior Mumbai-based journalist who have worked with many daily newspapers. Raju contributes on versatile topics.

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