Air India unions write joint letter to Civil Aviation Ministry, raising concerns of employees
Several Air India unions on Wednesday wrote a joint letter to the civil aviation ministry, pointing out various employee concerns such as cash, leave encashment, medical benefits, post-retirement benefits, accommodation and arrears.
With Air India undergoing privatization by the Tata group’s bid, unions raised several concerns that needed to show ‘deep concern’ over several employee-related issues. The letter was in reference to a meeting held on September 1, 2021, which was conducted by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and was attended by all Air India unions.
The letter mainly tried to clarify the option of encashment of leaves discussed in the said meeting before handover. Besides, housing was another issue as unions have demanded that employees be allowed to stay in airline flats till monetization or at least for a year as Tatas are giving one year employment guarantee.
Air India unions have sought clarity on these issues.
post retirement benefits
Entitlement of post-retirement benefits of medical and passage to all permanent employees. “It is estimated that around 2,400 permanent employees are being excluded from the retirement plan for want of completion of the 20-year clause. All permanent employees should be entitled to this benefit,” the letter said.
Restoration of pre-covid allowances
Referring to how the allowances of all employees were deducted during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020, the letter demands restoration of those allowances, now that Thar flights are back in operation.
payment of all dues
The unions have demanded the settlement of their dues before the handover. “The full payment of the arrears along with interest should be made before handing over, and the details of the arrears promised to us should be furnished immediately”, it read.
medical benefits
The unions said there was no clarity about the medical benefits they would get, expressing concerns about OPDs, hospitalization and distribution of medicines etc.
leave encashment
The letter claimed that employees were promised leave encashment in a meeting held on September 1, which was also chaired by the civil aviation ministry. With this, the unions are demanding that those who now opt to redeem the holidays can start over with new holiday accounts, and those who have opted to proceed, be credited with the holiday balance. Is.
Habitat
The unions are demanding that the employees be allowed to stay in Air India colonies till their retirement or monetization. He has asked the ministry to intervene on behalf of the employees and allow them to stay for at least one year.
Tata Sons beat SpiceJet promoter to take over Air India. The DIPAM secretary said Tata’s bid of Rs 18,000 crore includes taking loans of over Rs 15,300 crore and paying the rest in cash. Both the bidders quoted above the reserve price, said they plan to close the transaction by December.
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