Air India crisis: IPG ready to set aside demands if recognition is restored

The Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), leading the Air India pilots' strike, on Saturday said it was ready to set aside all demands to end the strike if the government restored recognition to the union.

"As Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has assured us that our demands will be looked into, we all are ready to set aside our other demands and resume duties forthwith. But then we want the government to re-recognise the union to enable us represent the pilots during deliberations on the Dharmadhikari Committee report," an IPG spokesperson told PTI here.

The IPG was de-recognised and services of 101 pilots were terminated after they started reporting sick from May seven.

There has so far been no official response to the statement, but sources said the IPG has already gone to court to seek restoration of its recognition.

The IPG statement came a day after Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh announced setting up of a four-member panel to implement Dharmadhikari Committee Report on integrating erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines employees and their pay, allowances and career progression structures.

"We want re-recognition (of the union) to enable us to represent Air India pilots during the discussions on Dharmadhikari report," the spokesperson said.

So far, they have been refusing to join work demanding reinstatement of all the 101 sacked pilots, restoring recognition of IPG and reducing the number of years for a promotion from ten to six, to bring it on par with that of the erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots.

Singh has repeatedly assured the pilots that all their demands would be looked into only after they ended their "illegal" agitation unconditionally.

"Their strike is illegal as no notice was served. Employees should take their strike back unconditionally and then all their demands will be looked into," Singh had said yesterday.

Announcing setting up of the panel, he had said the implementation committee would give its report within 45 days on how to implement the Dharmadhikari recommendations.