Air India will cut wages by 30-50%

Struggling to stay afloat, Air India has decided to cut wages, allowances and performance-linked incentives of its employees by 30-50% starting September.

Arvind Jadhav, chairman and managing director, Air India, convened a board meeting on Thursday to convey the decision taken in view of instructions issued by the government under Department of Public Enterprise (DPE) norms.

“This cut will be implemented across the board, as per the order of the prime minister’s office, and chairman Jadhav himself will be taking a cut of 50%,” said Bharat Raut, president of All-India Cabin Crew Association, who was present at the meeting held by Jadhav to convey the decision.

Representatives of pilots’ and engineers’ associations were also present at the meeting.
Raut said Air India will clear the July-August arrears before the pay cut is implemented.
Rationalisation of manpower and costs was also discussed at the meeting, he said. “Our management has informed us that there will be no retrenchment or lay-offs as of now,” he said.

Promising that there will be no protests, he said the union has come to terms with the solution as the economy is still staggering.

Raut, however, clarified that the unions have not agreed to all the terms of the management and will follow the board’s decision for the next six months to see if the situation changes. Besides meeting the unions, Jhadav also held discussions with banks about loans.