AI crisis: Former bosses advise patience

New Delhi: The recent strike in AI has taken ties between the management and two of its unions into a tailspin. In a bid to prevent further deterioration, the management has called the other 12 unions for a meeting on June 1, says an AI spokesman. Former chairmen of IA and AI say HR policies, especially in a service sector, are more about negotiation than arm-twisting. Here's their advice to both parties:
Keep talking: A management which doesn't talk to unions or senior directors is asking for trouble. "Be accessible to unions even if their demands are unreasonable," stresses a former senior official of IA who didn't want to be named and in whose time, three strikes were prevented. "There were times when pilot unions demanded a 300% hike but we still kept talking to buy time." The top management should work as a team, advises Roy Paul, chairman of AI from 2002-2004, when a striking Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) was derecognized.
Magnanimous management: The work force is the backbone of an airline. Respect them, even if you don't agree with them, says the IA official.
The strike, says P C Sen, former CMD of IA and ex-chairman of AI, is the reaction of a demoralized workforce.
Networking skills: Have trusted aides. There were IA chiefs who knew every move of unions, giving them a head start in negotiations.
Right timing: AI's two unions lost public sympathy for their bad timing — within days of the Mangalore crash and when traffic was at a peak. They gave the management an upper hand on a platter.
01/06/10 Shobha John/Times of India

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Categories: NACIL Jun 2010