Air India pilots threaten to go on strike

Executive pilots of state-owned Air India are planning to go on strike from Saturday, to protest the productivity-linked incentives (PLI) cut that was passed by the management of the airline on Thursday.

Executive pilots do not belong to a union and their pay scales differ from other pilots. According to agency reports, over 300 pilots fall under this bracket.

According to an airline source, a notice was issued by these pilots to the management. The source also mentioned that the pilots closed down the Central Training Establishment in Hyderabad as a protest against the PLI cuts.

However, a spokesperson for the airline said that they had not received any notification from the executive pilots’ guild and that the carrier is responding to the queries raised by the pilots.

“Also, the chairman and managing director has invited the guild for a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the issues,” he said. Any disruption would hamper and adversely affect the managing of the airline, he added.

According to AI’s plans, over 7,000 executives would see a cut in their PLIs, depending upon the amount they draw. This includes pilots, directors, cabin crew and senior officials. AI pays close to Rs 700 crore as PLI to its employees and has a wage bill of Rs 3,600 crore.