Air India employees call off strike after Delhi HC order

Several more employees involved in the strike which began on Tuesday afternoon and disrupted hundreds of flights, are likely to be either terminated or suspended, highly-placed sources said, indicating that a total of up to 100 employees would face action.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday in an interim order restrained Air India ground staff from continuing with the strike which is causing huge loss to the airline and inconvenience to passengers due to cancellation of flights. Justice Rajiv Sakdher asked the striking employees union to file its reply and posted the matter for further hearing on July 13.
The Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU), which spearheaded the strike along with the All India Aircraft Engineers Association(AIAEA), while announcing that the strike has ended said the striking staff will resume work with immediate effect. “Following the intervention of Chief Labour Commissioner and in the interest of travelling public, the ACEU is calling off the agitation. Our rank and file has been asked to restore normalcy as soon as possible. The AIAEA is also calling off the stir,” ACEU leader J B Kadiyan told reporters here.
To questions on sacking and suspension of employees, Kadiyan claimed that the Chief Labour Commissioner S K Mukhopadhyay has given in writing that no victimisation can take place if conciliation process is on.

Welcoming the Unions’ decision to call of the strike, Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav said, “we want National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) to become a professional, accountable and disciplined organisation. The Management is trying to ensure discipline...We are grateful to the Government of India for backing us.”

The Unions fell in line after the order of the Delhi High Court which turned the heat on them giving relief to the management of the cash-strapped state-owned airline which was given a free hand by government to take stern action.

NACIL, which operates Air India, had rushed to the Mumbai High Court and Delhi High Court seeking directions for an end to the stir. An estimated 20,000 engineers and ground staff or about 60 per cent of the staff strength were on strike.The NACIL in the  petition alleged that the strike by the employees was illegal when the reconciliation process was going on. The High Court passed the ex-parte order without hearing the employees union.The Unions were protesting against a ‘gag order’ on members for talking to the media after Saturday’s air crash in Mangalore and ‘delay’ in payment of salaries.