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| Edited By: |Source: PTI |Updated: Mar 16, 2018, 05:55 AM IST
Extending "moral" support to the agitating executive pilots, non-executive pilots of Air India today said they are in "non-cooperation with the company" and will not be flexible to report for work to maintain normalcy in operations.
"The management is giving step-motherly treatment to the pilots. They have impractically cut the salary and performance-linked incentives of the senior pilots, so we are in non-cooperation with the company," said captain Shailendra Singh, president of Indian Commercial Pilots Association's central executive committee.
The ICPA is a union of the non-executive pilots, of erstwhile Indian Airlines, recognised by the airline. The union has not participated in the agitation so far.
Meanwhile, the agitating pilots maintained that any discussions with the airline management would take on a "neutral platform".
"If management wants to have a talk with us then they will have to come on a neutral platform, which means, first they will have to withdraw the directive regarding the cut in the PLI," said captain VK Bhalla, a representative of executive pilots.
The ICPA members held meetings in Delhi, Mumbai and other stations across the nation to decide their future course of action.ICPA extends 'moral' support to agitating AI pilots
Bhalla claimed that around 400 executive pilots had joined the agitation and had not reported to work. The agitating pilots are in touch with other unions of the airline.
"If IPCA pilots join our agitation then the number of striking pilots would go up to 1,000 and if Air India pilots joins us then there would be more then 2,000 pilots," he said.
However, airline management termed his claim as "absolutely incorrect."
According to the airline, post-merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, there are only 319 executive pilots of which 157 are from erstwhile Indian Airlines.
Meanwhile, ICPA appealed to the airline management to resolve the issue amicably.
The move by the executive pilots had come two-days after the Air India board approved the proposal of up to 50 per cent cut in their PLIs.
