Aircraft technicians of the state-run All India Engineering Services Ltd. have called for a strike, casting some doubts over Air India's flight operations. The strike, called for on April 23, is due to "multiple unresolved issues" and "continued neglect" by the AIESL management, according to a notice issued on April 8.
The notice reasserted that a failure to address technicians' grievances would lead to a strike and a possible disruption of operations. The fixed-term employees of engineering cadre were unhappy on several fronts related to inadequate pay and promotions, said Prashant Kumar, a signatory of the letter.
"Our salary revision is overdue, promotions are not happening and there are so many other concerns that the management has not addressed, despite promising after our last strike," he said. The previous strike was held on March 15, 2022.
As this information started spreading, an understanding was formed— after the Vistara crisis, Air India's operations may be disrupted.
Core Of The Issue
AIESL, currently under Air India Assets Holding Ltd., is one of the biggest maintenance, repair and overhaul companies in India. It used to be a subsidiary of the erstwhile government-owned Air India.
In 2019, the AIAHL was incorporated for holding all non-core assets and debt of Air India. While the Tata Group took over Air India in January 2022, subsidiaries like AIESL continue to render their services to the carrier.
Over 5,000 employees currently work for AIESL, according to Kumar. Of these, around 3,000 are fixed-term employees and around 2,000 are permanent.
Since the previous strike in 2022, instead of a salary revision and addressing other issues, the management has issued a new service letter agreement that has worsened matters, Kumar said.
The top issues causing trouble are:
Service Letter Agreement: Under the new SLA, issued in March, the notice period of technicians has been increased from one month to three months, according to a copy of the document reviewed by NDTV Profit.
Promotion: For the last seven years, no promotions have been awarded in AIESL, the strike notice said.
Revised Salary: Technicians who have completed two to three years of service, are still awaiting their overdue salary revisions.
Also Read: Vistara Crisis Management: Pilot Help From Air India Will Take Time To Fly — Profit Exclusive
The Way Ahead
In light of these issues and the strike, AIESL's management, on April 9, asked technicians to call off the strike as it would only negotiate after that, a person familiar with the development said.
However, more meetings between the management and union are expected to be scheduled, another person said. AIESL's management has also requested the aircraft engineers union to accept the revised pay structure, the person said.
Air India and AIESL's management did not immediately respond to NDTV Profit's request for a comment on the development.
Whether the technicians would accept management's discretion or resort to a strike is yet to be seen.
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