Developer absorbs only 7% employees of Airports Authority

Mumbai: The fate of as many as 2,100 employees of Airports Authority of India (AAI) remains uncertain as the Operation, Management & Development Agreement (OMDA) signed between the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Mumbai airport’s private developer, the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), comes to an end this May after a provisional period of three years. And while the airport’s private developer was obliged to make employment offers to as much as 60 per cent of the AAI staff, an AAI executive confirmed that only seven per cent or 185 employees of the AAI have been absorbed by the private developer. The others face redeployment or have a choice to opt for a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) floated by the AAI.
On Saturday, as many as 2,100 AAI employees received redeployment circulars from the AAI. The employees’ union — Airports Authority Employees Union (AAEU) — has gone to court and is awaiting an order on the issue. “We’re aware of the court cases. One has been filed in the Delhi High Court and another by the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena (BKS) in the Bombay High Court,” said an AAI executive who is dealing with the redeployment of employees.
The employees, on their part, are also wary of joining the private company because it does not offer them a job guarantee. Employees, meanwhile, have been asked not to fill any forms pertaining to either redeployment or the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) floated by the AAI.
Meanwhile, MIAL, according to its spokesperson, has already achieved about 90 per cent of its strength in terms of hiring to run the airport post-May 2, when OMDA expires.
The MIAL is supposed to make an offer of as much as 60 per cent of AAI employees, which it did, according to the spokesperson. According to OMDA, the private company is also under obligation to pay fo
r the VRS, if opted by any AAI employee in due course of time.
18/03/09 Shashank Shekhar/ExpressIndia

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Categories: Airports Mar 2009