Now the AI Pilots Strike Work

Two AI flights cancelled as some pilots start agitation

PTI | New Delhi

Two Air India flights were on Saturday cancelled due to an agitation called by a section of the national airlines' pilots to protest the up to 50 per cent reduction in their productivity-linked incentives (PLIs).

Air India's flights to Mumbai and Kabul were cancelled this morning as the pilots did not report for duty, airline officials said.

The passengers of the cancelled flight to Mumbai have been accommodated in the next flight while those going to Kabul have been lodged in a hotel.

A section of Air India Executive pilots had last night threatened to go on the agitation to protest the reduction in their productivity-linked incentives (PLIs).

Representative of Executive pilots Captain Bhalla had said that "the Executive pilots have taken a decision to go on strike because nobody is in state of mind to work due to the salary cuts. Starting now, we will not work."

Official sources said the Executive pilots were taken on board over the PLI reduction and their move was surprising.

There are around 300 Executive pilots in the national carrier and since they are part of the airlines management, they cannot form a union and also cannot go on strike, official sources said.

Citing the massive cut in their PLI as the reason for the strike, Bhalla said, "With a stroke of a pen, the CMD Arvind Jadhav has cut 70 per cent salary of all the Executive pilots with 50 per cent being evident and 20 per cent hidden."

"He is trying to hire foreign pilots at the rate of USD 13,500 and wants us to work for peanuts," he alleged.

Bhalla alleged that the Chairman had not discussed the salary cuts with Executive pilots.

After Jet airways succumbed to the threat of their pilots it was only expected that the pilots of other airlines would follow suit.

As with the Pay Commission Awards where one department after another go on strikes to force the government to accede to their demands now that difficult times have set in the people will not accept cut in their salaries.
I have said before, all future Pay Commissions should be scrapped.
These same people do not accept cuts when the going is bad.
The government cannot possibly give the extra pays which it is giving to its employees.
It is just printing currency since it is empowered to do so.
This creates inflation and the common man and farmers suffer and commit suicide.
Then it has again to waive the farmers loan and print more currency to pay the banks from whom the farmer had taken loan.
When is this madness of financing debt going to continue?
When we face the same difficulties as being faced by the USA?
It is fortunate that we Indians are savers and not spenders otherwise we too would have been in the boat with USA.
But then our interest rates are astronomical compared to theirs so we have no choice but to save.
Of course, with inflation, we do not gain much by saving.