Stir over, Jet pilots' union faces axe

NEW DELHI: Although the strike by Jet Airways pilots is over, their struggle for forming a union seems to have just begun. The Registrar of Trade Unions has apparently done a volte face after registering the National Aviators Guild (NAG), which spearheaded the recent agitation, and issued it a show cause notice.

The Jet Airways agitation may stir a hornet���s nest on pilots��� right to form unions. Central trade unions, which have been fuming over the airline management���s approach to the stir, are planning to step in to take up the issue of unionisation of pilots with the labour ministry.

Representatives of the NAG approached CPM���s trade union wing CITU on Sunday night to seek advise on their future course of action. The pilots said the National Aviators Guild was given a registration number as well as a certificate by the registrar of trade unions, Mumbai, ahead of the strike.

However, the same registrar has now issued a show cause notice to the guild as to why the union should not be cancelled. The unions are alleging that the government was succumbing to management���s pressure.