The Air India Pilots' Strike : A Perspective
1) The fight for wage parity stems from the fundamental,constitutional right to equality. The same airline that denies ICPA pilots their due, citing a liquidity crunch, pays other pilots (both foreigners in domestic and Indians in long haul pilots) significantly more.
2) The company claims to be on the verge of bankruptcy and hence cannot raise employee's salaries. Who or what caused this financial mess? Not the pilots! Who ordered 110 aircraft when the airline did not need them ? Whose idea was it to merge AI and IA and create this huge mess? Who asset stripped the company by selling off bilateral agreements ,for a song, to Gulf Carriers? Who withdrew flights from profitable routes? Why doesn't the Government read and act upon the report submitted by the parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises on the AI/IA Merger that clearly identifies these scams. (In fact,the committee that published this report is headed by a sitting Congress MP!)
3) Equity infusion is every promoters prerogative. So what's the big deal if the government is infusing equity
to turn around Air India? Didn't the Tata's pump in hundreds of millions of dollars of share holders money to revive Jaguar Land Rover?Didn't Jet Airways spend 600 crores in shareholders money to buy Air Sahara and cause huge losses to the company? S why this huge media outcry now?
4)The media has repeatedly argued that Air India is run on tax payer's money. But who are these taxpayers? The pilots of Air India are amongst the country's highest taxpayers. Don't they also need to know where their hard earned money is going?
5) Is privatisation the real answer? How many private airlines stepped in to evacuate Indians stranded in Tripoli recently? How many private airlines service un-viable routes within India just out of social responsibility? Do you know that 17 percent of Air India's domestic routes are uneconomical and un-viable - (which even the railways cannot access)- out of sheer social responsibility. And most of the so called "extra" employees on its payrolls have been thrust upon AI because of government policies and not out of choice. Jet Airways and Kingfisher don't need a Vigilance Department, a Welfare Section, Staff Canteen section, Medical Dispensary/ clinic and a Hindi Bhasha Department.
Air India is the lifeline of India. So why should a valuable national asset with huge social responsibilities be privatised just because it is non viable and non competitive?So that some private player can buy it for a song and then sell its massive real estate bank and other assets and make a killing?
The Indian railways with its present fare structure is also a non viable PSU with an appalling safety and customer service record - its revenue yields are low and cash reserves are almost depleted. So why don't people scream for its privatisation,too?
Would you slaughter a hard working donkey and sell its meat just because it does not give the farmer milk?
6) ONGC, BHEL and SAIL are all government run PSU's in highly competitive markets. If they can fulfill all their goals, look after their employees( including providing a lifetime pension which AI employees don't get) and still make huge profits- why can't Air India?
Fix accountabiity,prosecute the corrupt and jail the guilty - and then you will find all the answers.