Agitating Jet pilots put onus on management to end stand-off
Responding to Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal's statement to a television channel that the pilots were blackmailing the airline and holding it to ransom, Kaushik said it was the other way round.
By Agencies |
MUMBAI: Taking a tough stand, Jet Airways pilots' union spearheading the agitation on Tuesday said there could be no progress to end the deadlock unless two of their sacked colleagues are reinstated.
"Our stand remains the same. The management must take back the two sacked pilots unconditionally. We have done everything to resolve the issue through talks but to no avail. The ball is now entirely in the management's court," Pilots' Union National Aviator's Guild (NAG) President Girish Kaushik told reporters here.
Responding to Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal's statement to a television channel that the pilots were blackmailing the airline and holding it to ransom, Kaushik said it was the other way round.
"Jet management is blackmailing us by telling us that you disband the union and we will take back the two sacked pilots. This is not at all acceptable to us."
The problem could be resolved within a split of second, Kaushik said, adding all the management needs to do is to reinstate the two sacked pilots.
Asked how long the stand-off was likely to continue, the NAG chief said it depended entirely on the management.
Kaushik said if the management was willing to talk to us, then the union will not settle for anybody less than Chairman Naresh Goyal.
The number of pilots who reported sick represents nearly 40 percent of the airline's total strength of 760 national pilots, Jet Airways, India's top carrier, said.
"This significant increase in the percentage of pilots reporting sick and disrupting flights is regarded by the airline as a simulated strike," the airline said. "As a result of this, 186 flights -- 154 domestic and 32 international services -- have been cancelled or affected throughout the Jet Airways network," Jet Airways said.
Last year, Jet Airways, reeling under high operating costs, was forced to reinstate 800 flight attendants it had sacked after angry protests by employees that drew enormous media and political attention. India's labour laws, rated by the World Bank as among the most rigid, hurt firms' competitiveness and will spark tensions as layoffs bite in a slowing economy, analysts have said.
"Our stand remains the same. The management must take back the two sacked pilots unconditionally. We have done everything to resolve the issue through talks but to no avail. The ball is now entirely in the management's court," Pilots' Union National Aviator's Guild (NAG) President Girish Kaushik told reporters here.
Responding to Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal's statement to a television channel that the pilots were blackmailing the airline and holding it to ransom, Kaushik said it was the other way round.
"Jet management is blackmailing us by telling us that you disband the union and we will take back the two sacked pilots. This is not at all acceptable to us."
The problem could be resolved within a split of second, Kaushik said, adding all the management needs to do is to reinstate the two sacked pilots.
Asked how long the stand-off was likely to continue, the NAG chief said it depended entirely on the management.
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Kaushik said if the management was willing to talk to us, then the union will not settle for anybody less than Chairman Naresh Goyal.
The number of pilots who reported sick represents nearly 40 percent of the airline's total strength of 760 national pilots, Jet Airways, India's top carrier, said.
"This significant increase in the percentage of pilots reporting sick and disrupting flights is regarded by the airline as a simulated strike," the airline said. "As a result of this, 186 flights -- 154 domestic and 32 international services -- have been cancelled or affected throughout the Jet Airways network," Jet Airways said.
Last year, Jet Airways, reeling under high operating costs, was forced to reinstate 800 flight attendants it had sacked after angry protests by employees that drew enormous media and political attention. India's labour laws, rated by the World Bank as among the most rigid, hurt firms' competitiveness and will spark tensions as layoffs bite in a slowing economy, analysts have said.
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