AIESL's Permanent Engineers, Technicians Demand Immediate Pay Revision, Warn Of Potential Industrial Unrest
AIESL's permanent engineers and technicians demand immediate pay revision, warning of potential industrial unrest if their pending revised salary payments are not implemented promptly.
A joint forum of permanent engineers and technicians of state-owned AIESL on Tuesday warned that there could be 'industrial unrest' among its members, if their revised salary payments pending for long is not implemented immediately.
The development came less than a week after the union representing the Fixed Term Employment staff of the company withdrew its call for strike after reaching a settlement regarding their grievances, including on salary revision and promotion.
In a letter to Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam on Tuesday, the joint forum also said that the revised pay should be disbursed expeditiously before making the revised payment to the company's contract staff.
"If action is not taken promptly, we'll have to caution the AIESL management regarding the potential for spontaneous actions or industrial unrest among our members," it said.
The forum represents aircraft maintenance engineers, service engineers and allied cadre unions of permanent employees of erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines, who were transferred to AIESL. It has around 1,900 members.
According to the letter, despite their acceptance of the pay revision that was to be effective from January 2017, the management of AI Engineering Services Ltd has failed to implement it till date.
It also mentioned about the recent commitment to provide arrears to the contractual employees of the company.
"This decision of the management to revise the salaries of only a certain section of employees is perplexing, especially considering that the management has substantially increased the salaries of all the FTEs including non technical staff multiple times in the recent past," the letter said.
A union representative claimed that the basic salary of these 1,900 staff is around 50% less than that of employees in other public sector undertakings.
AIESL has more than 5,000 staff.
The company provides base and line maintenance as well as overhaul of landing gear, avionics accessories and components, among others. It is under the AI Assets Holding Ltd after the disinvestment of Air India in 2022.
"We trust that your good office will give due consideration to our concerns and take immediate steps to rectify the situation. Your swift action in resolving these issues will not only restore the trust and confidence of our members but also contribute to fostering a harmonious and productive work environment," the letter said.
The letter has also been addressed to AIAHL Chairman and Managing Director Asangba Chuba Ao.