Mumbai:
Several flights have been cancelled after about 13,000 Air India (AI) ground employees from across the country went on a flash strike against the management's show-cause notice to key union leaders for speaking up about protocol after the Mangalore crash. (Read: List of Air India flights cancelled)
The strike has been on since 12.30 this afternoon and flights out of many cities have been affected.
Seven flights out of Mumbai have been cancelled.
Two flights from Delhi - to Mumbai and to Kolkata have been cancelled. Other flights from Delhi that have been cancelled are: Flt 849 to Pune, Flt 861 to Ahmedabad, Flt 415 to Patna and Flt 134 to Bhopal.
Two Air India flights from Chennai have been cancelled - the IC 573 to Colombo and IC 448 to Singapore.
Three flights from Kolkata have been cancelled - to Bagdogra, Dimapur and Kathmandu. A fourth flight, Kolkata-Imphal-Aizwal-Kolkata, took off as scheduled but returned without landing as there would be no engineers at Imphal or Aizwal to certify the flights. (Read: Air India employees on strike, flights hit)
An AI spokesman in Kolkata claimed metro flights would not be affected. A Kolkata-Delhi flight took off a while ago. AI said in Kolkata that it was trying to help stranded passengers to get on flights operated by private airlines, or, giving full refunds, including taxi fares.
An all-India Airlines Engineers Association spokesperson said engineers had not certified flights from about 11.30 am on Tuesday. (Read: Air India statement)
In Bhubaneswar, 180 passengers were stranded with flights to Mumbai and Delhi being grounded because of the strike.
PTI adds that the Air India employees went on strike also to protest a delay in payment of salaries and problems relating to the working conditions of cabin crew, union leaders said.
"We have begun a flash strike on delay in payment of salaries and the problems of the cabin crew, after the management refused to pay heed to our demands," Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU) General Secretary J B Kadian said in Mumbai.
Air India had recently decided that the May salaries would be delayed by a week.
Kadian said the management had also issued "gag orders" against leaders of all unions of Air India by asking them not to go public with their problems and termed the move as "anti-democratic".
The ACEU claims representation of 12,000 members of the erstwhile Indian Airlines including ground-handling and technical staff and cabin crew.
The union had served a strike notice on the management and the Chief Labour Commissioner on May 15 against Air India's decision to defer salary payments. However that notice had called for a strike from May 31.
However, unions belonging to the international wing of Air India have not gone on strike on this issue so far. ACEU is part of the Civil Aviation Joint Action Front (CAJAF), a joint platform of 11 recognised trade unions in National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL).
However, CAJAF spokesperson V J Deka told PTI that other unions had not taken any decision to strike work but "we are sympathetic to the ACEU cause".
"We also condemn the gag order issued by the management against leaders of the unions," he said.
The CAJAF has been demanding implementation of the recommendations of two Parliamentary Committees, which includes creation of two separate domestic and international airlines under a single holding company, the NACIL. The panels are the Parliamentary Committees on Public Undertakings and Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture. PTI ARC
In Mumbai, ACEU President Dinakar Shetty demanded immediate withdrawal of the gag order saying that it was an infringement on the right to freedom of speech.
The employees would not return to work unless the order is withdrawn by the management, he said. Shetty did not rule out the possibility of other Air India unions joining in the agitation.
The management had issued a circular yesterday advising unions not to air their grievances to the media, failing which it would take appropriate action, a National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) source said.
"Instances have come to the notice (of the management) that contrary to instruction issued in July 2009, 13 employees of the company holding positions of office-bearers of unions/associations/guild are freely airing their views to the media despite channels of communication existing with the company to voice their grievances," the circular said.
Employees concerned are advised to forthwith refrain from going public with their statements that has potential to harm the company's image and revenue prospects, failing which action as deemed appropriate will be taken, the circular said.
The strike has been on since 12.30 this afternoon and flights out of many cities have been affected.
Seven flights out of Mumbai have been cancelled.
Two flights from Delhi - to Mumbai and to Kolkata have been cancelled. Other flights from Delhi that have been cancelled are: Flt 849 to Pune, Flt 861 to Ahmedabad, Flt 415 to Patna and Flt 134 to Bhopal.
Two Air India flights from Chennai have been cancelled - the IC 573 to Colombo and IC 448 to Singapore.
Three flights from Kolkata have been cancelled - to Bagdogra, Dimapur and Kathmandu. A fourth flight, Kolkata-Imphal-Aizwal-Kolkata, took off as scheduled but returned without landing as there would be no engineers at Imphal or Aizwal to certify the flights. (Read: Air India employees on strike, flights hit)
An AI spokesman in Kolkata claimed metro flights would not be affected. A Kolkata-Delhi flight took off a while ago. AI said in Kolkata that it was trying to help stranded passengers to get on flights operated by private airlines, or, giving full refunds, including taxi fares.
An all-India Airlines Engineers Association spokesperson said engineers had not certified flights from about 11.30 am on Tuesday. (Read: Air India statement)
In Bhubaneswar, 180 passengers were stranded with flights to Mumbai and Delhi being grounded because of the strike.
PTI adds that the Air India employees went on strike also to protest a delay in payment of salaries and problems relating to the working conditions of cabin crew, union leaders said.
"We have begun a flash strike on delay in payment of salaries and the problems of the cabin crew, after the management refused to pay heed to our demands," Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU) General Secretary J B Kadian said in Mumbai.
Air India had recently decided that the May salaries would be delayed by a week.
Kadian said the management had also issued "gag orders" against leaders of all unions of Air India by asking them not to go public with their problems and termed the move as "anti-democratic".
The ACEU claims representation of 12,000 members of the erstwhile Indian Airlines including ground-handling and technical staff and cabin crew.
The union had served a strike notice on the management and the Chief Labour Commissioner on May 15 against Air India's decision to defer salary payments. However that notice had called for a strike from May 31.
However, unions belonging to the international wing of Air India have not gone on strike on this issue so far. ACEU is part of the Civil Aviation Joint Action Front (CAJAF), a joint platform of 11 recognised trade unions in National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL).
However, CAJAF spokesperson V J Deka told PTI that other unions had not taken any decision to strike work but "we are sympathetic to the ACEU cause".
"We also condemn the gag order issued by the management against leaders of the unions," he said.
The CAJAF has been demanding implementation of the recommendations of two Parliamentary Committees, which includes creation of two separate domestic and international airlines under a single holding company, the NACIL. The panels are the Parliamentary Committees on Public Undertakings and Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture. PTI ARC
In Mumbai, ACEU President Dinakar Shetty demanded immediate withdrawal of the gag order saying that it was an infringement on the right to freedom of speech.
The employees would not return to work unless the order is withdrawn by the management, he said. Shetty did not rule out the possibility of other Air India unions joining in the agitation.
The management had issued a circular yesterday advising unions not to air their grievances to the media, failing which it would take appropriate action, a National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) source said.
"Instances have come to the notice (of the management) that contrary to instruction issued in July 2009, 13 employees of the company holding positions of office-bearers of unions/associations/guild are freely airing their views to the media despite channels of communication existing with the company to voice their grievances," the circular said.
Employees concerned are advised to forthwith refrain from going public with their statements that has potential to harm the company's image and revenue prospects, failing which action as deemed appropriate will be taken, the circular said.
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