AI might have survived another blow, but the mess has only compounded

The agony of the ailing Maharaja continues. Barely two days after the Mangalore air crash which killed 158 people, a section of Air India employees triggered an unprovoked strike disrupting the operation of 130 flights and impacting over 13,000 passengers.
It took the passengers by surprise, but more so, the government and the Air India management which were fighting against the fallout of the decade’s worst air disaster, were shocked to find about 20,000 employees going on strike to protest against the management’s ban on union members talking to the press. For the Indian national carrier which has witnessed a turbulent journey for the last one year because of severe financial crisis and HR mismanagement, the recent strike turned out to be a big air pocket. First, some of the 5,000 stranded passengers were so upset with the trauma that they openly questioned the credibility of the airline and its management.
Also, as it’s compulsory by order that government officers must travel only by the government-owned carrier, the strike hit the government hard among others. The central government came out with a circular immediately that entitled government servants to fly any other carrier, both on duty and on leave travel concession (LTC) until resumption of normal services by Air India. Also, the airline lost the revenue of about Rs 12 cr during the two-day-long protest.
In fact, the fallout of the sudden strike was so severe and humiliating for the government that it gave a virtual free-hand to the Air India management to crack the whip on the unions which spearheaded the strike. Though the go-ahead of taking strict measures including termination of services of errant employees was given by Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel, it had the full backing of the entire government machinery.
No wonder, the Air India management acted tough, and even after the strike was called off thanks to the Delhi High Court’s intervention, the crackdown of the errant employees continued.
30/05/10 Shantanu Nandan Sharma/Times of India

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Categories: NACIL May 2010