Airport unions' show of strength takes ugly turn

Mumbai: On Monday though, workers of two political parties clashed outside the airport because of which an entrance into the domestic terminal 1B building was closed for about 15 minutes in the afternoon.
The Bharatiya Kamgar Sena (BKS), Shiv Sena's flagship trade union, pulled all stops to reiterate its clout in the aviation sector, even as the Sharad Pawar led NCP pitted Sena rebel Kiran Pawaskar against the BKS. Pawaskar, who headed the BKS' Air India cabin crew association for a long time, quit the Sena, saying that he was "stifled" in the party, and joined the NCP last week. In an attempt to pre-empt Pawaskar's move to takeover the reins of the Air India Cabin Crew Association (AICCA) from the BKS, senior Sena functionaries reached Mumbai airport on Monday for a show of strength. Shiv Sainiks and Pawaskar's supporters briefly clashed in the precints outside domestic terminal 1B and outside AICCA office near the international terminal.
"Sena supporters who were waiting outside the union office pelted stone at Pawaskar and his supporters when they reached there,'' said an eye-witness account. The AICCA leaders already were facing trouble as the Air India management had sealed their union office on Thursday.
The Gate 1 of domestic terminal was closed for a while, and passengers took the Gate number 2, which is a few seconds away, said a Mumbai International Airport Pvt ltd spokesperson adding that passengers were not inconvenienced and flights not affected. But the Sahar police officials had a tough time controlling the crowd . Policemen from nearby police stations were diverted to the scene. The police carried out a mild-lathicharge to control the situation.
11/01/11 Ambarish Mishra and Vijay V Singh/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2011