New Delhi:
Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi briefed the Union Cabinet about the ongoing Air India pilots' strike today, reiterating that his ministry fully backed the airline management's tough stand against those on strike, sources said.
He reportedly pointed out that 1,600 Air India pilots drew a total of about Rs 800 crore in salary in a year. And that another about Rs 800 crore was the combined salary of the other over 28,000 employees of the airline. Yesterday, Mr Ravi had stressed that Air India pilots are among the highest paid in the country.
The minister told the Cabinet that he had taken a firm view of situation and that there were festering issues from the merger of Indian Airlines and Air India not being spelt out clearly, sources said.
Ravi had said at a press conference yesterday that the demands of the pilots' union - the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) - could not be accepted. He had also appealed to the striking pilots to cooperate and help the airline come out of its crisis.
More than 50 flights have been cancelled on the second day of the strike so far. Flights have also been delayed. Both sides have refused to blink; the management, backed by the Aviation Ministry, is firm it will not buckle and on the other side more pilots have joined the strike.
The Air India management has sacked eight pilots since yesterday.