Fliers stranded after union stir

Kolkata: Over 450 passengers were stranded for nearly four hours at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on Saturday following an agitation by airline staff owing allegiance to the recently formed Trinamool Congress trade union.
Passengers on Jet Airways afternoon flights to Mumbai, Agartala and Bagdogra as well as the JetLite flight to Delhi were held up at the airport after the INTTUC-backed Jet Airways India Ltd Contractor Workers' Union launched a stir at 12.15 pm over a pay hike dispute.
The airline later lodged a complaint against four contractual staff Anthony Dutta, Gautam Kar, Loknath Nag and Rajesh Shaw alleging they had manhandled five senior Jet Airways officials.
A circular issued by the central government labour commission a couple of months ago, directing airlines to hike minimum wage paid to contract labourers, was the bone of contention between the Jet Airways management and the union.
While the airline said the circular was not clear on whether the hike was applicable to those working at airport terminals, the union insisted otherwise, pointing to a hike effected by two low-cost carriers, SpiceJet and Indigo. The latter said they had hiked wages to pre-empt such an imbroglio and would adjust the additional payout once the clarification arrived.
Other domestic carriers Air India and Kingfisher are yet to follow suit. Jet Airways, too, has refused to go ahead with the hike till its legal department had clarity on the circular.
06/12/09 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Dec 2009, Jet Airways Dec 2009