June 14: Three day old strike of the employees of the state-owned carrier 'Indian' still continue and worst sufferers are the commuters who have no clue about its resolution.
Air traffic remained badly affected as the management of “Indian” is yet to accept or reject the demand of increase in the wages.
More than 12,000 ground staff, later joined by cabin crew, of ‘Indian’ went on a nation-wide strike on Tuesday night accusing the management of going back on its assurances of providing wage arrears and better promotional prospects.
Even after government and Delhi High court’s declaration of the strike as illegal, on-strike employees refused to budge under the pressure. Employee union leaders have denied any knowledge about the High Court order. President of Air Corporation Employees Union D K Shetty, said, “WE are not aware of any High Court order nor has any notice been served”. He stressed on the involvement of union in the case. “Since the Union has not been made a party to the case, we will continue the strike,” he added.
Government has authorized chief labour commissioner to prosecute the employees under the Industrial Dispute Act while as Delhi High Court on Wednesday concluded the strike as "prime facie illegal" and asked the Indian employees to resume duty at the earliest in the interest of air travelers.
Three day old strike has left hundreds of passengers trapped for hours with none to take care of their baggage, ticketing and other facilities. Flight operations of the domestic carrier were disrupted in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Guwahati and many other towns.
The situation worsened with the cabin crew joining the strike, thus leading to a complete breakdown in services.
The employee claim that they want the strike to end as soon as possible but only after management initiates talks to settle the issue. "We are open to talks. We are ready for settlement. We are urging the management not to be adamant as we cannot put pressure on passengers," J K Badola, general secretary of ACEU, which is spearheading the strike, said.
Meanwhile, management has suspended 27 employees on Wednesday on the pretext of not reporting to their duties, which might infuriate the employees further as employees are determined to carry on their strike until the demands are met.
“We will never succumb to the minister’s pressure. We will face suspension than withdrawing the strike,” J K Badola said.
By accepting the seriousness of the issue, civil aviation minister, Praful Patel, said that the government and the management had taken a serious view of the situation. He warned the reconsideration of the already agreed package for wage arrears.
The ministry and the management had agreed to pay a package of Rs 267 crore as wage arrears since 2000. The union is demanding wage revision since 1997.
“Also career progression to bring the employees broadly on a par to what they had demanded had been agreed on. However, just before the final agreement could be reached the employees have gone on a strike without giving any notice to the management,” Patel said thus putting all ounces on the striking employees.
Till now there has been no formal meeting between the two sides and keeping in view the seriousness of the issue and loss incurred by the Carrier, concerned quarters might try to solve the issue within few days.
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