Air India pilots may go on strike to protest against salary dues

NEW DELHI: Pilots of Air India, the state-owned carrier, are discussing the possibility of going on strike to protest against being paid only part of their salaries over about two years. “Strike is one of the options that we are looking at to protest against payment of 75% of our salaries. We have not sent any notice to the management yet on the same,” said a pilot involved in the discussions.

The pilot said they are fighting against the “arbitrary” cut by the management. “The matter is now in the Supreme Court. But a cut in salary leads to mental stress and we may choose not to work under stress, as that is unsafe,” he added. The airline had cut the salary of pilots by up to 25% following the recommendations of the Dharmadhikari Committee, which proposed changing the salary structure of Air India employees by removing productivity-linked incentives.

An Air India official said it has not received any notice on the issue. “We are regularly talking to them and there is no reason for a strike at this juncture,” the official said.