Ajit Singh assures Air India pilots parity in pay, calls for end to strike

Civil aviation minister Ajit Singh on Friday once again called the strike by Air India pilots illegal and said that the pilots would have to end their strike before coming to the negotiating table.

Addressing a press conference, Singh assured that the salary interests of the pilots would be protected and will be in accordance with international standards.

Earlier in the day, there were reports that the pilots may call off their strike before the press conference. However, there have been no further developments on this front.

The minister also made clear that the government is no longer in a position to fund the airline. A group of ministers had recently approved a Rs 7,500 crore debt package for the debt-laden carrier. The airline has accumulated losses of around Rs 20,000 crore.

The state-run carrier, which had to trim international flights in the wake of the pilots strike, is currently running at 75 per cent capacity, he said, without elaborating on the routes and sectors that were facing a shortage in service.

The striking pilots have been seeking parity in pay with the pilots of the erstwhile Indian Airlines, and have been protesting that erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots should not be allowed to train for flying the Dreamliner.

Singh said the pay scale of the pilots will be linked to the profits earned by the company and the achievement of targets, adding that promotions would be based on exams and certifications.

Referring to the recommendations of the Dharmadhikari report—which suggests a uniform pay scale for Air India and erstwhile Indian Airlines employees, a pay scale in accordance with public sector enterprice guidelines for non-executive cadre and industry pay scale for executive cadre, and the linking of performance-linked incentives with the company's profits—the minister said a committee has be set up to do the ground work, which will take 45 days.