Thousands of passengers were inconvenienced on Wednesday as the ground staff and cabin crew of the state-run Indian airlines went on strike for better pay.
NEW DELHI: A strike by employees of state -owned carrier Indian on Wednesday led to the cancellation of over 40 flights and delayed many more, leaving hundreds stranded in airports across the country, as the government declared the stir illegal and warned of a lock-out.
As 27 employees were suspended, the Chief Labour Commissioner's office -- the disputes redressal body for the striking workers -- declared the strike as illegal and warned of prosecution if it was not ended immediately.
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In a letter to Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU) general secretary J K Badola, Chief Labour Commissioner S K Mukhopadhyaya said the employees had struck work "during the pendency of conciliation proceedings".
This had rendered the strike illegal and made the ACEU liable for prosecution under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, he said.
Mukhopadhyaya asked the ACEU to come forward for "meaningful dialogue" at the earliest to resolve the issue of wage revision and other matters.
As hundreds of people were stranded in airports after Indian flights were cancelled or delayed by several hours, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel warned of stern action against the employees if they did not withdraw the strike.
A proposed Rs 267-crore package to clear the arrears of Indian employees "can also be reconsidered" if the stir was not called off, he said.
Indian cancelled over 40 flights at airports in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Kerala, Goa and other cities. Many more flights were delayed by several hours. Indian's services to the Gulf and Southeast Asia were also affected, officials said.
Meanwhile, the Indian management appealed to employees to refrain from their "illegal industrial action" considering the peak summer holiday season and inconvenience caused to travellers.
The stir was "detrimental to the financial condition, image and reputation" of the company, it said and urged passengers to travel light and to reconfirm their flights before setting out for the airport.
Earlier, the management moved court in New Delhi and served a legal notice on ACEU, which has a strength of over 12,000 and represents ground staff and cabin crew.
Official sources said the government would even consider a lock-out if the strike continued.
The employees began a flash strike on Tuesday night after walking out of negotiations with the management on key issues like career progression and parity with Air India staff once the two state-run carriers are merged in July.
Indian cancelled 22 flights from Mumbai, an Indian spokesperson said. In Pune, the strike led to the cancellation of at least two flights.
Two international and two domestic flights in Ahmedabad and those from Hyderabad to Mumbai and Chennai were cancelled. Two flights from Goa and several in Assam were also cancelled, affecting services in the entire northeast.
Indian cancelled four flights from Kerala, causing hardship for passengers bound for the Gulf. Five Indian flights from Delhi were also cancelled.
The conciliation proceedings were on at the CLC office on Tuesday when the ACEU insisted on the implementation of the original career progression pattern, walked out and launched the flash strike.
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