Air India Express has sacked at least 30 cabin crew, a day after nearly 300 employees of the airline called in sick and switched off their phones, leading to large-scale flight disruptions. The number of job terminations is likely to increase and the management is likely to hold a townhall meeting with cabin crew members today. A total of 76 flights have been cancelled today as the disruptions snowball into a full-blown crisis for the low-cost airline, which is a subsidiary of Air India, now owned by the Tata group.
The employees have been protesting against the new employment terms, sources have said. The crew, the sources said, has alleged a lack of equality in the treatment of staff. They have claimed that some staff members have been offered lower job roles despite clearing interviews for senior positions, the sources said. The crew has also flagged some modifications in their compensation package. These developments are taking place even as the airline is in the middle of a merger with AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India).
The Air India Express crisis is fresh trouble for the Tata group, barely a month after its full-service carrier Vistara witnessed disruptions due to protests by pilots over changes in their pay packages.
An Air India Express spokesperson yesterday said the management is engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind the mass leave and added that they are working to minimise inconvenience to the fliers.
The termination letter issued to the 25-off crew members says that the mass leave “clearly points to a pre-meditated and concerted abstention from work without any justifiable reason”.
“As a result of the above, a large number of flights had to be cancelled thereby disrupting the entire schedule, which caused tremendous inconvenience to the Company’s esteemed passengers. Your act is not only subversive of public interest, but has also caused embarrassment, severe reputational damage, and serious monetary loss to the Company.
Your act of reporting sick for work amounts to a concerted action with a common understanding, to not operate the flight and to disrupt services of the Company. This is not only in violation of the applicable laws, but also violates the Air India Express Limited Employees’ Service Rules as are applicable to you,” the letter adds.
The Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), an organisation claiming to represent the crew members, has written to the management and “highlighted a stark departure from commitments”. The union has accused the airline of mismanagement and treating staff unequally. Sources from Air India Express, however, have said it does not recognise any employees’ union.
Meanwhile, the regional labour commissioner has weighed in and said the staff’s grievances were genuine. In a May 3 e-mail to Air India Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran and others – a copy of which is with NDTV – the Regional Labour Commissioner in New Delhi, Ashok Perumalla, pointed to “blatant violations of labour laws”.
Stating that the concerns of the Union are genuine, Mr Perumulla wrote, “The management of Air India Express has not sent any responsible decision-makers to any of the conciliation proceedings. Mismanagement and blatant violations of labour laws were apparent.”
Mincing no words, the official continued, “The HR department tried to mislead the conciliation officer with the wrong information and an idiotic interpretation of legal provisions.”
For maintaining “harmonious industrial relations”, Mr Perumulla has suggested that Air India Express set up a high-level committee to examine grievances of the employees and functioning of the HR department. He has also called for corrective measures.
