Indian ground staff go on flash strike

NEW DELHI: An estimated 12,000 ground staff of Indian tonight went on a nation-wide flash strike accusing the management of going back on its assurances to them on their demands for wage arrears and better promotional prospects.

JK Badola, general secretary of Air Corporation Employees’ Union (ACEU) said that “all the ground staff went on a flash and indefinite strike from 2130 hours as our talks with the management have failed.” He said the strike affected flights in all regions including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata.

Mr Badola said the ground staff included check-in employees to loaders. He said the ACEU and the Indian management had been negotiating on the employees’ demands under the aegis of Central Labour Commissioner.

While most of the domestic flights tonight were unaffected by the strike, the action by the ground staff is expected to hit Indian flights to Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Singapore, sources said.

An Indian spokesman said the negotiations between the two sides were on and “we hope the employees will participate in the talks”.