Pilots' union defends stir, says all attempts made to inform minister

NEW DELHI, MAY 26: 

The logjam in Air India as result of the agitation by a section of pilots continued on Saturday — a day after the pilots' union met the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Ajit Singh.

In a press statement, the Indian Pilots Guild said that after their meeting with Mr Singh, they came back with the impression that the Minister was ‘upset' that the union had not approached him before they went on the the agitation. IPG is leading the stir.

IPG said ‘all attempts' were made to ‘contact and apprise' the Minister and officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation about the volatile situation.

The Civil Aviation Minister has all along maintained that the Government was willing to talk with any one as long as the agitation was withdrawn. Besides, he has also made it clear that the agitating pilots whose jobs have been terminated will be taken back on a case to case basis.

In fact, at the Friday meeting with pilots, the Minister explained to them how the airline might be forced to hire more crew to operate regular services. The Minister also indicated that the agitation could create a situation where wage arrears — that were to be paid to all airline employees in June — could be in jeopardy.

The agitation has gone on for over a week and has affected long haul operations of the airline. It is causing a daily revenue loss of between Rs 12-15 crore.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/article3459653.ece