Aircraft technicians to strike work on April 23. Here's why

AIESL, formerly a subsidiary of Air India, was transferred to a holding company after privatisation.

Employees of All India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL), a state-run maintenance, repair and overhaul firm, will strike work on April 23 due to various issues affecting their “well being” and “professional growth,” the All India Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Union has said in a letter to the chief executive officer.

The strike call could add to fliers woes recently hit hard by pilots at Vistara, jointly owned by Air India’s owner Tata Group and Singapore Airlines Ltd, calling in sick in large numbers.

AIESL was formerly a subsidiary of Air India.

Here are their concerns:

No Promotion: In the April 8 letter, the union said the staff is upset over lack of career growth as they haven't been promoted in seven years.

Revised Pay: The management has promised a revised pay structure for technicians who have worked for at least two years with the firm but has not been done yet

Contractual employees' woes: Contractual employees feel discriminated because they have to serve longer notice periods than the permanent staff and aren’t given as many benefits. The contractual employees form 75 percent of the company’s workforce.

Also Read | Vistara reduces flights by 10%; cancellations mostly on domestic network

Aircraft technicians have urged the management to resolve the issues to avoid potential disruptions from the strike, the letter said.

A representative for AIESL said the management has initiated discussions with the union to resolve the issue.

AIESL, formerly a subsidiary of Air India, was transferred to a holding company after privatisation. The strike will further add to India’s aviation industry woes that saw hundreds of flight cancellations last week after pilots at Vistara, jointly owned by Air India’s owner Tata Group and Singapore Airlines Ltd, called in sick en masse.