Par panel plays at AI mgt on salary cut proposal

NEW DELHI: Air India management's proposal to slash the pay package of over 30,000 employees in a bid to reduce costs has come under attack from a parliamentary committee, which has sought payment of all arrears with effect from January 1997.

In its latest report, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture noted that the prime reasons for Air India's losses were not the employees, but "misplaced" policies of the government.

"The Committee feels that employees are being made scapegoat and cut in their salaries and PLI have become tools in the hands of management in the name of cost cutting/ restructuring," it said.

"Since all parameters are laid down for PLI payment, the Committee does not see any scope for reduction in PLI of employees," the panel headed by CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said.

In a strongly-worded report, it said that "making the employees suffer (by not getting their arrear payments) due to no fault of theirs can hardly be justified."

Referring to erstwhile Indian Airlines' employees pay revision case, the panel said it felt that "had the wages been revised in 1997 itself, the IA workers would have now been getting what was due to them. However, it is surprising that the revision was delayed for ten years."

"The Committee, therefore, recommends that the arrears to all the employees be sanctioned with effect from January 1, 1997, and paid appropriately."