Air India pilots have refused to accept the ‘paltry’ 5 per cent roll back in the ‘illegal pay cut’ by the carrier. They have asked Air India CMD to donate it towards the building of the new Parliament building or PM CARES. “We do not accept this paltry 5 per cent roll back in illegal pay cut and you may advise the concerned to donate this 5 per cent towards funds for building the Parliament or PM CARES,” said two pilot associations, Indian Pilots’ Guild and Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association in a letter to CMD Rajiv Bansal.
The pilots said that they would be forced to resort to ‘industrial action’. They said that they have given the management every benefit of doubt as well as ample time to redress the issue of disproportionate pay cut for Air India pilots and its subsidiaries. “If we do not see a timely substantial reduction in this disproportionate pay cut, we will be forced to seek justice through harsher means including ‘Industrial Action’,” they added.
The letter stated that parliamentarians also have only taken 30 per cent cut on gross emoluments and vehemently refused to take a higher cut. “While the parliamentarians themselves have taken a cut of only 30 per cent on gross emoluments and vehemently refused to take a higher cut, we think it is completely egregious for us pilots to continue tolerating this arbitrary massive pay cut of 55 per cent on our gross emoluments,” stated the letter.
“This pittance in the form of a 5 per cent decrease in the current wage cut is an outright insult, its sting magnified in light of our unwavering support and trust in this company. This ‘generosity’ amounts to a reduction of approximately 3 per cent in the current gross pay cut for pilots,” they said.
“Right now, the disproportionate unilateral pay cut imposed on pilots in the name of Covid-19 amounts to a gross reduction up-to 58 per cent of our rightful wages, from the month of April 2020. This cut has been carefully worded to slash our wages by more than half while insulating top management from any meaningful austerity contribution such as a fair percentage cut on gross emoluments which spreads the burden fairly,” stated the pilots.
