NEW DELHI: Pilots in the private sector are usually among the highest paid professionals in India. But executive pilots who are counted as part of Air India's management have, for the past few months, been taking home barely Rs 4,500-8,000 per month!
Not surprisingly, the `unwell' pilots who are on sick leave aren't keen to get well soon. Captain V K Bhalla, who is spearheading the agitation in Delhi, said: ``AI's management must pay our past three months' dues and roll back the Talibani cut in salaries. Only then will we report for work. We pilots are getting pittance as allowances and performance-linked incentives are not being paid. I have got Rs 6,000 so far this month. Last month, till August 22, I had got Rs 8,000 and then some allowances. It's not just me, most IA pilots (who were with Indian Airlines before the merger with AI) are getting a pittance. On top of that, they also want to cut the performance-based incentive of not just this month, but also the last two months.''
Another senior pilot said he has been getting Rs 4,600 for the past three months while his earlier take home was Rs 2-2.5 lakh. Despite repeated attempts, AI spokesperson could not be reached for comment on this issue.
However, with the management showing little sign of relenting, the strike could be a long-drawn affair.
While maintaining that it won't bow down to striking pilots and that AI has to cut costs drastically to survive, a worried government has called an emergency meeting of all airlines on Tuesday. Aviation secretary M M Nambiar will meet private airlines to stress on two points -- they should not raise fares to cash in on the crisis and should accommodate AI passengers to ensure they are not left stranded when pilots call in sick.
On Sunday, Bhalla, who refused to attend the meeting between some executive pilots and the airline management in Mumbai, said that nobody from the management had got in touch with them over the issue and accordingly only a handful of pilots from Mumbai were present for the meeting. ``Our demand is simple. The management should pay us our dues and call off the cut that it has ordered. While it is paying foreign pilots almost $20,000 per month, are we to believe that it has no money to pay us less than a third of that, specially since we don't even need foreign pilots,'' he said.
On its part, top aviation ministry officials say AI and IA pilots' pay package is much higher than their private counterparts. ``We are going to take a harsh view of the strike as it is inconveniencing the public. It is also not helping the effort to get bailout money from the government and if that does not come, the airline will have to die,'' said a top official.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/business/india-business/Air-India-pilots-getting-Rs-8000-per-month/articleshow/5063507.cms
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