It has been over a year since its takeover from the Center and Air India has not only made big strides in terms of change and transformation but has also been embroiled in major controversies on issues ranging from pilot discontent to inability to handle certain sensitive matters. . Despite a year of transformation, it seems that troubles are not over for the airline, which is now under Tata management. However, pilots under two of its unions – the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) – recently accepted the revised compensation structure, but this came after a prolonged standoff between the unions and the airline management Is.
pilot salary issue
On April 19, the ICPA and IPG of Air India rejected the new pay structure proposed by the airline. The primary root of the dispute is the reduction in flying allowance from 70 hours to 40 hours per month under the new structure, which the pilots feel is unfair. Both unions have warned of possible “industrial unrest” if the management goes ahead with the new terms without their consent.
While Air India has said that it will “continue to engage with its remaining employees,” the airline has taken a hard line on the issue, saying that “there is no recognized union in Air India.” This is the first pay revision introduced by Tata Group-owned Air India since its takeover last year, and will affect all 3,000 pilots of its four airlines – Air India, Air India Express, Air Asia India and Vistara.
The source revealed that during the town hall meeting held on May 4, around 800 pilots, who were yet to agree to the new compensation structure, were in attendance. The meeting was chaired by Air India’s Chief of Operations Captain Rajvinder Singh Sandhu, who is also a pilot. Responding to requests from pilots, who had earlier rejected the revised compensation structure, the airline has given an extension till the end of May to sign new contracts.
According to a source, a large number of pilots stuck to their stand of not signing new contracts. In view of the deliberations and concerns raised by the pilots, the airline had decided to extend the deadline for the pilots to decide on new contracts. The extended deadline now allows pilots to make their choice till the end of this month, while the original deadline for accepting the revised compensation structure was set at April 30.
To address the new service conditions and decide the way forward, the unions held a joint virtual meeting, bringing together their respective members. “The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the revised compensation structure in detail and determine the future course of action,” sources said.
Appointment of Ilker AEC as CEO
However, the Tata management triggered its first set of controversies in February 2022 with the appointment of Ilker Açek, former chairman of Turkish Airlines, as CEO and MD of the airline. The appointment raised eyebrows with RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch objecting to the appointment of the former Turkish Airlines chairman by the Tata Group as managing director and CEO of Air India. Amid controversies, Ilker Esi’s appointment did not last long as he turned down the job.
pay package disparity
Following this, the senior management of Air India faced discontent from senior pilots, who took several measures ranging from ignoring Indian pilots and hiring foreign counterparts on hefty pay packages to alleged changes in the service conditions of its member pilots. opposed issues.
The IPCSA issued several notices demanding that the Air India management comply with the statutory mandate of the Industrial Disputes (ID) Act, including Section 9A, in letter and spirit; and shall not make any change in the conditions of service of the pilots without following the applicable provisions of the ID Act. The pilots’ body also sought to be included as representatives of the pilots in the deliberations regarding any changes in the conditions of service before any preliminary steps are taken.
It had said that for the morale of the pilots and for the maintenance of trust between the pilots and the management of Air India Limited, especially in view of the transition to the new management, it was important that the pilots are consulted before any situation And they should be taken into confidence. A change is made in their service, especially when such a change may ultimately prove to be harmful to them.
urination events
After this, the incident of urination on Air India’s New York-Delhi flight on November 26, 2022 and the mishandling of the issues that came up after that, Tata had to face so much embarrassment that the CEO of Air India and the chairman of Tata Sons made a statement Had to issue Tata Sons and Air India chairman N Chandrasekaran said on 8 January that the airline’s response to the incident on the New York-Delhi flight on 26 November should have been “much faster”.
Aviation regulator DGCA on January 20 imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Air India and suspended the pilot-in-command’s license for three months in connection with the Air India urination incident that took place on November 26, 2022. Rs 3 lakh fine on Air India’s director-in-flight services for failing to discharge duties.
In another case, the DGCA imposed a financial penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Air India for not reporting the incidents that took place on AI-142 Paris-New Delhi flight on December 6, 2022. There were two incidents in flight. while a passenger was in the toilet smoking, intoxicated and not following crew instructions; Another allegedly exposed himself on an empty seat and blanket of a fellow female passenger when she went to the toilet.