Kingfisher engineers strike work over salary

Close on the heels of its pilots going on strike demanding salaries, a section of Kingfisher Airlines engineers did not report for work on Monday protesting non-payment of March salaries, forcing the airline to use the services of managers to certify the aircraft for operations.

There was, however, no impact on the operations as no flight was cancelled or delayed because of the fresh labour unrest at the ailing Vijay Mallya-owned carrier.

“As many as 30-40 engineers did not report for work today (Monday) as they were demanding payment of their March salary,” an airline sources said. This was the third strike by the engineers since May. The absence of such a large number of engineers forced the airline management to draw manager-cadre engineers to certify the planes for dispatch, they said.

The airline spokesperson was not available for comments. Under the DGCA norms, an aircraft can’t takeoff unless its air worthiness is certified by the airline engineers after regular safety check-ups.

The near bankrupt private airline, at present, has 12 departures from Mumbai, besides four night halts. A section of Kingfisher pilots had gone on strike late last month to protest salary delays.

Since April, KFA staff have been striking work at regular intervals. The airline which is struggling for survival and facing funding drought for more than a year now, has not paid salaries to most of its employees since March.