A section of Air India’s pilots is agitating against their being declassified as workmen and proposed pay cuts. This led to the airline’s flights getting delayed on Friday. While Directorate General of Civil Aviation sources said 10 flights were delayed, the airline claimed only three were impacted. “Out of the 300 flights operated today (Friday), so far only three have been delayed, due to non-reporting of crew on time. All our flights are operating smoothly as per schedule,” Air India officials told Business Standard.
The commanders are protesting against a clarification by the labour ministry on Tuesday, excluding them from the workmen category in the Industrial Disputes Act. They can no longer be part of trade unions, their service conditions can be changed, and they will not be able to raise a dispute against their employers.