New Delhi/Mumbai: Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Friday told Air India's
striking pilots that the airline may begin hiring new pilots if the 18-day-old
strike continued.
"We
are not waiting for them, (we) can even begin hiring new pilots," the
minister told after meeting some of the striking pilots.
"I
have told them my stand, now they need to think," Singh said.
We
are now flying half the international routes. And we are making a new business
plan. If I have to hire new pilots, I will do that."
Ajit
Singh made it clear that the pilots he met came in their individual capacity
since the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), which is at the heart of the current Air
India crisis, has been de-recognized.
He
reiterated to the pilots that while the government was ready to pore over their
demands, the pilots would have to first call off the "illegal
strike".
A
senior official told earlier that some of the pilots who called on Ajit Singh wanted
to rejoin duty "and said they were ready to cooperate and discuss all
outstanding issues".
"They
requested the minister to give them a fair chance to explain their stand,"
the official said.
Ajit
Singh reportedly advised the pilots to rejoin duty immediately after going
through the mandatory guidelines and said no one will be victimised.
"The
minister said he is willing to discuss all their issues after they join
back," said the official.
The
strike by IPG members entered the 18th day on Friday. The strike by over 400
pilots has crippled Air India's international operations, costing it some Rs
280 crore in revenue.
The
IPG said it had also offered to meet Ajit Singh and that it would end the
strike when the 101 sacked pilots are reinstated.
"We
sent a letter yesterday (Thursday) to the minister seeking a meeting with him
so that we can explain our situation to him personally. But till now we have
not received any invite," Rohit Kapahi IPG said.
"We
want a chance to put across our views to him in a fair and transparent manner
so that we can find a way to end the impasse."
The
letter, sent to Singh on behalf of IPG general secretary E.A. Kapadia, said:
"An earnest dialogue will help resolve all issues in the interest of the
country, the airline and its employees."
The
IPG pointed out that despite the strike, it had asked a pilot to go to Seattle
May 25 to take delivery of the new aircraft joining the Air India fleet.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/can-hire-new-pilots-says-ajit-singh/261436-37-64.html
No comments:
Post a Comment