All AI revamp panels to have union reps

Mumbai: It was a day of marathon meetings for Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav as he met representatives from the airline's unions, taking them into confidence by briefing them about the situation at hand and seeking support. The first move in this direction came on Thursday when Jadhav formally announced that union representatives will be included in each of the nine committees formed last month to revive the airline.
"The committees include that for manpower-rationalisation, route-rationalisation, green initiatives, contract and procurement, alliances etc and these will include union representatives. The chairman has taken steps to ensure transparency and we will support him,'' said a spokesperson for joint action committee (JAC), the umbrella body comprising Air India pilots, engineers and officers unions. The national carrier, which incurs a loss of Rs 14-15 crore a day, is seeking a bailout package from the government in the form of equity infusion and soft loans. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Thursday assured financial support to Air India on the condition that it restructures itself.
The unions--about 18-20 of them--have grouped into two bodies and the chairman had to hold separate meetings with each of them. In the first one he met representatives of employee unions and guilds that have threatened to strike work over delayed payment. The second meeting was with representatives of JAC.
"We, as a responsible union of pilots, engineers and officers, have given our support to our chairman and promised to stand by the company in this crucial juncture so that it can be turned around,'' Capt R S Otaal, general secretary of Indian Commercial Pilots Association, a union in JAC.
The unions which have launched an agitation program against the airline's decision to defer salary to its employees also came out in support of the chairman.
26/06/09 Times of India

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: NACIL Jun 2009