Mumbai:
Employees of the cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines have withdrawn their threat to strike if they are not paid salaries due to them since December. With some pilots having received their salaries today, they have decided to hold back their strike.
Mr Mallya, in his letter to the employees dated on April 2, had promised payment of salaries to the pilots by April 10. Pilots have now said they will wait till then for their next course of action.
The deadline was set by employees in writing on Monday to Kingfisher owner Vijay Mallya. In their "appeal" to Mr Mallya, the employees, pilots included, had said yesterday that their financial stress could affect safety. However, Mr Mallya reportedly met representatives of the employees in Mumbai Monday night and persuaded them to cooperate with him.
He reportedly reassured them that the money owed to junior staff, including those involved in ground handling and security, will be paid by Wednesday.
Meanwhile tax authorities have asked debt-laden Kingfisher Airlines to clear service tax dues of Rs 600 million at the earliest, a top finance ministry official said on Wednesday.
"There is no question of leeway to Kingfisher on payment of service tax," S.K. Goel, chairman of India's Central Board of Excise and Customs, told reporters.
Goel also said the airline's bank accounts have been defrozen.
Mr Mallya told his employees earlier this week that the company had paid 200 million rupees of service tax.