Cut pilots’ pay, link it to Air India profits: govt panel

New Delhi: New Delhi The government-appointed panel to resolve pay-related issues of employees belonging to Air India and erstwhile Indian Airlines has recommended pruning pilots’ salaries and benchmarking them to the private sector. Around 1,800 pilots of the state-owned carrier — who are paid 10-15 per cent more than private sector rivals Jet and Indigo — account for almost four-fifth of the total wage bill, with some getting over Rs 1 crore a year.
According to a source involved in writing the report, incentives for the 28,500-odd staff, would now be linked to the airline’s profitability. “If the airline makes profit, employees get these allowances,” said the source. These will be different from the productivity-linked incentives, which are linked to the traffic carried, and presently make up almost 80 per cent of a pilot’s total pay package. The panel called for doing away with the PLI, which it said, can be factored in while redrawing the new basic pay structure. It also sought to restrict the number of free tickets employees and their extended families are eligible for on Air India as well as partner global airlines
In an attempt to end the turf war between the two state-owned carriers which were merged in 2007, the report advocated a cadre-based graded system for the merged entity, Air India. As career progression, it has recommended erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots to be allowed to train on bigger aircraft flown on the long-haul international sector.
01/02/12 Smita Aggarwal/Express India

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Categories: Air India Feb 2012