As the Air India pilots? strike entered its 18th day, civil aviation minister Ajit Singh has thrown his weight behind a proposal to exclude commanders from the ?workmen? category, as stipulated under the current labour laws.
If cleared, this would prevent senior pilots from proceeding on strikes in the future. The minister is said to have held discussions and consultations with Attorney General GE Vahanavati on the matter. Under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, highly-paid pilots are currently classified along with other blue collar workers as ?workmen?.
?We have discussed exclusion of commanders from the workmen category with lawyers… The commanders are the seniormost pilots. They should be put in the officer category,? a top government source said. Singh is learnt to have given instructions to the ministry officials to work on the proposal.
As per the ministry?s estimates, some of the airlines? seniormost pilots, who have struck work in the past, earn an annual compensation of over R1 crore. ?The compensation of commanders varies from R75 lakh-R1 crore per annum,? said a ministry official.
The latest strike at the national carrier came soon after a R30,000-crore bailout approved by the Union Cabinet in April. ?Most of the Cabinet members had reservations on granting Air India such a huge financial package, when there are other pressing matters before them,? said a cabinet minister.