DELHI- AIESL (AI Engineering Services Limited), formerly part of Air India (AI) technicians, will strike on April 23, 2024, amid various management issues, including unequal pay, no promotion, uniform discrimination, and more.
The Secretary of the newly registered All India Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Union (AIAMEU), Shri Prashant Kumar ji, shared with Aviation A2Z the reason for the strike and more about illegal practices by the AIESL management.
AIESL Technician Strike
Prashant Kumar Ji, Secretary, Suraj Kumar Ji, Dy. Secretary and Sashi Bhusan Kumar Ji, President of AIAMEU, on behalf of AIESL technicians, wrote to Sharad Agarwal, CEO of AIESL and CHRO, on April 8, 2024, about the strike.
AIAMEU, the largest and only union in India that represents Aircarft Maintenance Engineering personnel is actively addressing the grievances of Aircraft technician/support services engineer/trainee AME / cat A / AMP in the field.
In the letter, AIAMEU members wrote about the decision, which was not made lightly due to negligence and failure from the management side to address and resolve legitimate concerns and issues.
Grievances and Concerns
Here are some of the key grievances and concerns by technicians with Management:
- Promotion:
It has been about seven years since joining; no promotions have been awarded within the company, which has led to widespread frustration and demoralization among the workforce. This lack of career advancement opportunities has created a sense of stagnation and discontent among employees. Despite the career progression that has been provided to us at the time of joining the organization, we have been denied our basic rights, which is a blatant violation of our rights as per the established company policies. - New Service Letter Agreement:
The recent forced implementation of a new Service Level Agreement (SLA) has exposed a clear discrimination between permanent and FTE staff, with a glaring disparity in notice periods and benefits. The abrupt change in the notice period from one month to three months for Technicians and six months for Certifying staff has created confusion, rage, and anger among employees. A huge amount of resistance was observed from all over India. The AIAMEU union requested the management to change this, but as usual management turned a blind eye towards us. - Revised Salary for technicians who have completed 2-3 years of service:
It was promised in front of ALC that the salary of the technicians who have completed 2-3 yrs. of service will be revised. However, the technicians are still awaiting overdue salary revisions, which is unjust and unethical, and unacceptable. This delay shows a failure in the commitments made by management and the lies told over time that they care for us and are ready to help us and address our concerns. This matter, due to time has grown discontent among technicians and eroded management’s trust. - Uniform Discrimination:
Unilateral changes to uniform policies without prior consultation or consent demonstrate a lack of transparency and accountability, further compounded by the apparent misuse of company funds. Disparities in the color and quality of the uniform have created a sense of division where we, “FTE,” feel insecure, undervalued, and marginalized. We FTEs’ s contribute to the 75% working category of “AIESL,” and such steps force us to think that the management does not consider us as their own staff or equal to their permanent employee. Such actions poorly reflect the management’s ethical standards and contribute to a climate of distrust and resentment among employees. - Mendacious Promises from the Management:
During the Last strike, it was discussed in front of ALC (that management would establish a committee and help to address issues related to the Termed Employment (FTE) rule, Basic Salary revision, Career Progression Scheme, Inclusion of DA in salary, etc., within a period of 90 days. But this promise also turned out to be mendacious and showed management’s lie, which was said overtime just to avoid the elephant in the room. These management decisions have created an atmosphere of unrest among the employees and led us to realize that management thinks highly of themselves and has started considering them as an Institution. This gross violation of our constitutional rights and undermines the principles of fairness and justice.
Exclusive Interview with Secretary
Bhavya Velani (myself) asked Prashant Kumar Ji about the strike and whether this strike would be successful or not.
Prashant Ji replied, “There is no doubt!! 100% it will be successful, and we are getting complete support from all the maintenance personnel who are facing these issues. I have faith in technicians, and this time, we will get what has been pending for a long: the rights of employees for equality at the workplace by all means.”
Apart from this, He revealed that AIESL management is illegally hiring students from a couple of institutions with a good relationship with AIESL.
Prashant Ji said, “AIESL, which operates as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) company, cannot hire anyone without issuing notice. Further, each candidate from all over India should get a fair opportunity to apply, and this process should be transparent.”
When I asked which are these institutes, He sent me the list of candidates who AIESL illegally recruits. To protect their names, I have hidden the PDFs.
These AME institutes are Thakur Institue of Aviation Technology (TIAT) in Mumbai and JRN IAT in Delhi. AIESL, in March 2024, hired these candidates through campus interviews. From JRN Delhi, the AIESL recruited 43 candidates, and from TIAT, it hired 41 candidates.
I want to ask AIESL what are the faults of students studying in other institutes. Did AIESL management took money from these two premier institutes? If yes, then they should be punished, and if not, then why this discrimination?
Well, these are my personal questions as part of the field. I have seen special treatment given by private airlines and MROs to some candidates from India’s premier institutes, but when this is done by PSU company, it raises questions.
Final Warning
AIAMEU added, “They repeat, the management cannot turn a blind eye towards our grievances. We urge you to engage in constructive dialogue and take immediate steps to address our grievances in good faith to avert the impending disruption to operations. Failure to do so will leave us with no choice but to proceed with the strike action as planned.”
Note- It should be noted that the Court case, W.P.(C) 12601/2023, regarding the “IMPLEMENTATION OF NOTIFICATION NO. GSR 235 (E) DATED 16.03.2018 OF INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT (STANDING ORDERS) ACT, 1946” is subject to the outcome from the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi. This should not be considered as the agenda of this Strike Notice.
At last, the AIAMEU letter concluded, “We remain hopeful that a swift and amicable resolution can be reached to restore trust and ensure a fair and conducive work environment for all.”
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