AI plans fewer TUs for smooth talks

Mumbai: Struggling flag carrier Air India, whose restructuring efforts have been hampered due to frequent strikes by trade unions, is working towards framing a new policy in consultation with trade unions to create just a single union in each staff category.
National Aviation Company of India (Nacil) plans to roll out the policy within six months in order to facilitate smoother dialogues between the management and employees on important issues concerning the airline.
The carrier, which has 11 recognised trade unions representing pilots, engineers, officers and non-executive categories, wants to streamline and eliminate duplication of unions within the same category. The carrier has around 31,000 employees across various categories.
The presence of more than one union within a category, in the past, impacted discussions on critical issues. For instance, Indian Pilots Guild has 300 plus Air India pilots as its members, while Indian Commercial Pilots Association has more than 500 pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines. Pilots from both unions have different pay structures, making Nacil’s work tough on the negotiations front when it comes to framing certain policies. Two unions—the Air Corporation Employees Union and the All India Aircraft Engineers Association, were derecognised in May after members went on a flash strike to protest a ‘gag order’ by the management.
20/09/10 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Express

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Categories: NACIL Sep 2010