Air India takes high-risk route to tackle pilot unrest
The Tata-owned airline’s steadfast refusal to engage meaningfully with the protesting pilots is a perfect example of how not to handle an industrial dispute.
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Editor's note: Air India’s last-ditch efforts to quell discontent among its pilots have fallen flat. The Tata-owned airline had set 24 April as the deadline for its pilots to accept the revised pay structure and service conditions, which had been rolled out a week earlier. The majority of the pilots turned down the offer. The revamped structure invited backlash on Twitter. Two Air India pilot unions also shot off letters to the management in protest, and one to Ratan Tata, the Tata group’s chairman emeritus who is a trained pilot himself. This came as a setback to the airline’s management. Getting pilots on board with the new pay structure was key to chief executive Campbell Wilson’s ambitious plan to expand Air India’s fleet and network—part of the airline’s five-year turnaround strategy after the Tata group acquired it in January last year. But the notice about the revised pay structure had the pilots all riled up. “It’s not just about money and minimum flying hours. But it’s more about how the letter was worded and also how clauses in the contract provide a …
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