Court allows transfer of 2,000 AAI employees

Mumbai: Observing that privatisation of airports is in public interest, the Bombay High Court on Thursday allowed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to transfer nearly 2,000 permanent employees to airports outside Mumbai.
Vacating the stay granted by a single judge last week on the transfer orders, justice DK Deshmukh and justice RS Mohite observed that privatisation is in public interest and workers' fundamental rights are subject to it.
The order is a jolt to airport workers' unions, who are fighting to hold on to their jobs in other cities where airports have also been privatised. The workers' plea for a stay of the HC order was rejected. The workers are now likely to approach the Supreme Court.
The 2,000-strong workforce of AAI's non-executive staff in Mumbai will be rendered surplus from May 3 when the three-year settling in period of AAI's 2006 agreement to lease out of airport maintenance to the Mumbai International Airport Private Limited (MIAL) ends. As per the operation management development agreement (OMDA) between AAI and MIAL, the AAI employees could continue to work in the same positions for three years after MIAL took over the Mumbai airportin 2006. Of the 2,112 AAI employees, 161 joined MIAL and 600 were given the option of transfers to other airports. AAI contended that if the workers were not transferred then from May 3 there would be chaos at the Mumbai airport owing to surplus staff. The workers had contended before the court that the OMDA envisaged that those who did not join MIAL would become surplus and would eventually be retrenched.
24/04/09 Anshika Misra/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Airports Apr 2009