New Delhi:
Faced with threats of being sacked by Air India and warnings of potential jail time by the Delhi High Court have not persuaded the 800 Air India pilots on strike to return to work. Air India's management had said that pilots who didn't report to work by 5 pm this evening would be fired. The Delhi High Court formally initiated contempt of court proceedings against the pilots for ignoring its orders to end their strike. If found guilty on Monday, the pilots could be asked to spend six months in jail. At the heart of the battle is the issue of how much pilots are paid.
"We are more than willing to go to jail. Nearly 31,000 Air India employees will also be ready to court arrest because we are serious about saving the national carrier from ruin," Rishabh Kapur, the General Secretary of Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA). The union was derecognised on Monday by the airline's management.
Air India was able to operate just 50 of its 320 flights scheduled for today. The management says it may invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) in the next few days. The pilots, on the other hand, want a CBI probe into the "massive corruption" in the airline under the leadership of Chairman and Managing Director, Arvind Jadhav.
"We are willing to get back to work provided the government assures that they will look into the corruption issue raised by us and order a CBI enquiry," Mr Kapur said.
Air India has declared losses of Rs 36.5 crore so far because of the strike. (Read: Air India's statement)
The management of the airline declared yesterday that no bookings for domestic flights would be taken till May 3 - an ominous sign as both pilots and the management fail to find common ground. Other airlines are cashing in by hiking their fares - adding a new dimension to passengers' nightmares.
The airline tried to compensate by co-opting flights from its cheaper strain - Air India Express - to take passengers from Kerala to the Gulf this morning. (Read: Air India special flights to clear backlog) It's also operating larger planes on main routes like Delhi and Mumbai.
In 2007, the government merged Air India with Indian Airlines, assuming it would lead to a more cost-efficient national carrier. The desired results are nowhere on the horizon, despite 2000 crore rupees being infused into operations.
The 700 pilots on strike were all originally hired by Indian Airlines; they say that four years after the merger, they are still paid significantly less than the pilots who joined them from Air India. Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi is not moved by their plight. He said 1600 pilots make 800 crore rupees. "Many of them are plus two, not even graduates, and they are getting Rs. 3.8 lakh a month... I hope sense will prevail upon these people. Are they starving?'' he added. (Read)
Executive pilots - who handle administrative jobs - and had been asked by the management to fill in for those on strike have begun calling in sick - a thinly-veiled gesture of support for the ICPA.
"We are more than willing to go to jail. Nearly 31,000 Air India employees will also be ready to court arrest because we are serious about saving the national carrier from ruin," Rishabh Kapur, the General Secretary of Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA). The union was derecognised on Monday by the airline's management.
Air India was able to operate just 50 of its 320 flights scheduled for today. The management says it may invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) in the next few days. The pilots, on the other hand, want a CBI probe into the "massive corruption" in the airline under the leadership of Chairman and Managing Director, Arvind Jadhav.
"We are willing to get back to work provided the government assures that they will look into the corruption issue raised by us and order a CBI enquiry," Mr Kapur said.
Air India has declared losses of Rs 36.5 crore so far because of the strike. (Read: Air India's statement)
The management of the airline declared yesterday that no bookings for domestic flights would be taken till May 3 - an ominous sign as both pilots and the management fail to find common ground. Other airlines are cashing in by hiking their fares - adding a new dimension to passengers' nightmares.
The airline tried to compensate by co-opting flights from its cheaper strain - Air India Express - to take passengers from Kerala to the Gulf this morning. (Read: Air India special flights to clear backlog) It's also operating larger planes on main routes like Delhi and Mumbai.
In 2007, the government merged Air India with Indian Airlines, assuming it would lead to a more cost-efficient national carrier. The desired results are nowhere on the horizon, despite 2000 crore rupees being infused into operations.
The 700 pilots on strike were all originally hired by Indian Airlines; they say that four years after the merger, they are still paid significantly less than the pilots who joined them from Air India. Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi is not moved by their plight. He said 1600 pilots make 800 crore rupees. "Many of them are plus two, not even graduates, and they are getting Rs. 3.8 lakh a month... I hope sense will prevail upon these people. Are they starving?'' he added. (Read)
Executive pilots - who handle administrative jobs - and had been asked by the management to fill in for those on strike have begun calling in sick - a thinly-veiled gesture of support for the ICPA.
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