Pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines, unionized under the ICPA, have issued a legal notice to the AI CMD Rohit Nandan protesting implementation of new FDTL from Sept 11
NEW DELHI: Air India seems to be facing another threat of industrial unrest as pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines, unionized under the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), have issued a legal notice to the airline CMD Rohit Nandan protesting implementation of new flight duty time limitations (FDTL) from September 11.
The legal notice, sent to Nandan on September 14, argues that the flight duty time limitations of ICPA pilots are fixed under a bilateral agreement between the union and the management and that "all these settlements are within the knowledhe of the company and the Government (DGCA), and therefore, no unilateral alteration is permissible."
The civil aviation ministry earlier this month asked Air India to implement FDTL of 125 hours per month for pilots (as mandated by sector regulator DGCA), instead of 90 hours a month as per their union agreement.
Meanwhile, in a texted response on his course of action, Nandan told ET, "we will respond legally to the notice."
The ministry's rationale in making this change was to increase flying-time, which would result in more utilization of fleet and manpower, and decreased human resource costs for a long time to come.
A senior official from the civil aviation ministry told ET that there was no question of rolling back the new rule.
"Agreements are not done to perpetuity. If the overarching law of the sector, in this case Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) by DGCA, change, agreements will be updated too...they are not above the law," the official said requesting anonymity.
The ICPA pilots, meanwhile, have said they are not in mood for a strike. "There should've been bilateral consultation on the matter. But we are not thinking of going for a strike or disrupting operations," a pilot said.
The notice by the pilots argues, "If this course of action were to be adopted, it would be arbitrary and illegal, especially when there are several factors to be considered, not least of which is the right of the ICPA pilots to be consulted."
The notice by Supreme court lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan states that starting with the settlement entered in 1993, the terms of the FDTL applicable to ICPA have been revised regularly first in 2001 and again in 2006.
The legal notice, sent to Nandan on September 14, argues that the flight duty time limitations of ICPA pilots are fixed under a bilateral agreement between the union and the management and that "all these settlements are within the knowledhe of the company and the Government (DGCA), and therefore, no unilateral alteration is permissible."
The civil aviation ministry earlier this month asked Air India to implement FDTL of 125 hours per month for pilots (as mandated by sector regulator DGCA), instead of 90 hours a month as per their union agreement.
Meanwhile, in a texted response on his course of action, Nandan told ET, "we will respond legally to the notice."
The ministry's rationale in making this change was to increase flying-time, which would result in more utilization of fleet and manpower, and decreased human resource costs for a long time to come.
A senior official from the civil aviation ministry told ET that there was no question of rolling back the new rule.
"Agreements are not done to perpetuity. If the overarching law of the sector, in this case Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) by DGCA, change, agreements will be updated too...they are not above the law," the official said requesting anonymity.
The ICPA pilots, meanwhile, have said they are not in mood for a strike. "There should've been bilateral consultation on the matter. But we are not thinking of going for a strike or disrupting operations," a pilot said.
The notice by the pilots argues, "If this course of action were to be adopted, it would be arbitrary and illegal, especially when there are several factors to be considered, not least of which is the right of the ICPA pilots to be consulted."
The notice by Supreme court lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan states that starting with the settlement entered in 1993, the terms of the FDTL applicable to ICPA have been revised regularly first in 2001 and again in 2006.
"The agreements were further continued by virtue of the documents of merger of 2007, most particularly the scheme of amalgamation, which provided that the pilots would not be subject to conditions less favourable to those existing at that point of time."
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/air-india-pilots-send-legal-notice-to-cmd-rohit-nandan-protesting-new-flight-duty-timings/articleshow/16434857.cms?curpg=2
