Hundreds of Air India Express employees could go on strike from January 15th over disagreements connected to issuing of agreements.
The low-cost subsidiary of soon-to-be-privatized Air India flies to many popular destinations in the Middle East, and a strike could impact flight processes on a large scale.
AirAsia India
The news arrives when the carrier is in the last stages of existence brought over by the Tatas and ahead of a likely merger with AirAsia India in the near future.
Cabin crew of Air India Express
The cabin crew of Air India Express is threatening to go on an indefinite strike from January 15th if the management fails to give a satisfactory answer to their requests. The employees handle that the present practice of issuing contracts to other sets of employees is unfair and exits some cabin crew at a loss.
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A report by the New Indian Express quotes Vijaykumar KK, president of Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), as saying,
“The contract period for cabin crew was decreased to one year from five years. At the exact time, the contracts of other staff and new recruits are for five years. We completed the management nine times in the presence of the central labor commissioner to resolve the problem but we didn’t get any positive answer.”
More than 500 cabin crew are members of the AIXEU, and any such strike is likely to affect flight operations immensely.
Air India Express’ CEO
According to the sources have established that Air India Express’ CEO has accepted the notice. The workers are expecting a good answer from the management; otherwise, a strike looks imminent.
- The carrier’s employees have been protesting for some time now, citing unfair labor practices by the management. On December 14th, the crew under the AIXEU had arranged a national-level protest increasing their voice over alleged “gross injustice” by the airline’s management.
Apart from the contract problem, the employees want COVID-induced salary stakes to be revoked and a ground-staff job proposal to one of the employees who got injured and is nowadays in a wheelchair.
The AIXEU president says that the labor commission had called to present a ground-staff position to the injured cabin crew member, but the management terminated his agreement instead.
Employee protest at AI Express
The employee protest at AI Express comes at a time when a change of ownership is just around the corner for the airline. While the carrier’s handover to the Tatas has been delayed slightly over some regulatory support, it is still very much on its way.
The Tatas have been maintaining a close eye on protesting employees of the Air India group and would want the airline to fix these issues before the official handover.
Furthermore, with reports of a possible merger of AI Express with AirAsia India, the Tata Group would want to resolve any pending issues with employees for a relatively smooth transition.
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