Kingfisher staff likely to defer strike threat after Mallya assures salary payment

New Delhi, Apr.3 (ANI): Employees of Kingfisher Airlines are likely to defer their strike after reaching an agreement with the management over the payment of salaries and other dues.

Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Vijay Mallya met the employees' representatives on Monday evening at his residence and the negotiations went on till 4 a.m. on Tuesday.

The pilots and engineers called the meeting fruitful after Mallya assured that junior staff would get their salaries by Wednesday.

However, the pilots failed to get any written assurance from Mallya.

The employees are yet to take a final call on their agitation and have threatened to go on a strike if they were paid their dues in the next couple of days.

Mallya had earlier promised that the junior staff would be paid before Easter on April 4 and all pilots and engineers would get their salaries on April 9 and April 10.

Mallya's letter addressed to the employees came after the Kingfisher Airlines staff, who have not been paid their salaries for the past few months, wrote to the Royal Challengers Bangalore team, which is managed by Mallya, urging the players to boycott the Indian Premier League (IPL) so that they get their dues.

Kingfisher has been closing down offices across India temporarily due to curtailment of flights from 64 aircraft to 16 aircraft. The airlines has also suspended all international flights from March 25 and further curtail domestic operations even as Government warned the ailing carrier that its flying licence could be cancelled if it failed to meet safety norms.

Kingfisher has a total debt of about Rs 7,000 crore and accumulated losses of about Rs 6,000 crore. The financial crunch has hit Kingfisher's operations with dozens of flights being cancelled. (ANI)