Airlines in India are once again making headlines for the wrong reasons, as nearly all incumbent players in the Indian aviation industry have faced turbulence in the past month, with their employees protesting against the lack of reinstatement of their salaries that were cut during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Employees of IndiGo, GoFirst, Air India and SpiceJet have all expressed their discontent in the past by not reporting for work, or taking "mass leaves", which disrupted the operations of these airlines.
IndiGo
It all started when InterGlobe Aviation-owned IndiGo witnessed delays in its flights across the country on July 2 and July 3, with more than 56 percent of the airline's flights reporting delays on July 2.
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Airline officials had said that a number of IndiGo employees had taken leave on July 2 to appear for the walk-in interviews for hiring cabin crew by Air India and Air India Express.
IndiGo immediately responded by reinstating the salaries of its pilots and cabin crew by 8 percent from August 1. IndiGo had introduced a 28-percent pay-cut in May 2020 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was followed by aircraft maintenance technicians of IndiGo in Delhi and Hyderabad not reporting to work between July 8-10.
On July 11, the airline said that it would "rationalise" the salaries of its aircraft maintenance technicians and remove "anomalies cause by the pandemic".
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However, on July 12 it was reported that IndiGo had started disciplinary proceedings against the aircraft maintenance technicians who went on mass sick leave.
The largest airline in India even asked its protesting technicians to report to the airline’s doctor, along with necessary medical documents, so that the carrier could verify if they were actually sick.
On July 13, some of the maintenance technicians of the airline shared termination letters on social media, but the airline said that it was in constant touch with its employees to address any grievances.
GoFirst
The protests by aircraft maintenance technicians of IndiGo, also prompted the technicians of GoFirst to go on "mass leave" from July 10.
Technicians and cabin crew of GoFirst went on "mass sick leave" from July 10 in multiple stations across India asking the airline to raise the salaries and reimburse some technicians for working without pay between April 2020 and November 2021.
GoFirst's employees asked the airline to increase the salaries of junior technicians to Rs 30,000 a month from Rs 19,000 currently. Similarly, they have also sought a pay hike for senior technicians.
The airline's management met with protesting employees, both in Delhi and Mumbai, on July 13 and reassured them that salaries will be increased.
A GoFirst spokesperson said that a few technicians were absent for two-three days, but after the airline explained the present situation and addressed all concerns, the employees assured the airline that they would resume work from July 13 or July 14.
The airline also said that some of its employees were misguided. However, following counselling, they have taken cognizance of the efforts made by the airline amidst the volatile scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a statement on July 13 said that aircraft maintenance technicians at IndiGo and GoFirst continued to remain on sick leave in protest against low salaries.
''We are closely monitoring the situation. As of now, operations are normal. Hopefully, it will be resolved shortly,'' the DGCA said in a statement.
Air India
Employees at newly-privatised Air India are also not happy with the new management.
While no protests have been reported by Air India's employees, the Air India Employees Union wrote a letter to the chairman of Air India Assets Holding on July 9, saying stoppage of retirement benefits, such as provident fund, pension, gratuity, and medical care was an unlawful act by the organisation.
Several senior employees of Air India, including pilots, cabin crew, ground-handling staff, engineering crew and even employees involved on the administration side, told Moneycontrol in June that they were starting to feel out of place at the airline, after having worked there for decades.
In June, more than 1,600 employees of Air India opted for voluntary retirement under a scheme announced on June 1 by the Tata Group. These employees made up around 22 percent of Air India's permanent staff.
An official working at Air India’s head office in New Delhi also said the new management has faced backlash from Air India employees over a number of issues including the government evicting them from staff accommodation in Delhi and Mumbai as well as pay cuts.
Senior cabin crew of Air India also said that the new Air India management’s decision to inspect cabin staff members’ grooming and measure their body mass index (BMI) at airports have come across as an indication that the airline might look to replace certain employees.
SpiceJet
Pilots at SpiceJet are also up in arms, with reports saying that a section of the airline's pilots did not report for work on July 14.
The airline's pilots have said that their salaries have not been reinstated to pre-COVID levels by SpiceJet, and were lower by as much as 70 percent in some cases.
Pilots are also angry at not having received the company’s contribution towards their provident fund since 2020.
However, SpiceJet, on July 14, said that there are no reports of unusual sick leave today and all pilots have reported for duty.
"There is no unusual sick reporting today and all pilots have reported for duty. All our flights have departed as per schedule and there are no delays. We strongly deny of any such development," the airline said in a statement.
SpiceJet's pilots had last year in September also gone on a strike at the Delhi airport. About 150 employees of the airline had participated in the protest.
The airline's pilots also said that several of them were forced to resign or were arbitrarily terminated.
SpiceJet's pilots have also alleged that the airline has been cutting corners in the matter of passenger safety.
The DGCA had, on July 6, issued a show cause notice to low-cost airline SpiceJet over ‘poor safety oversight’.
The regulator found that SpiceJet has failed to establish a safe, efficient and reliable air service, and asked the accountable manager of SpiceJet to show cause within three weeks as to why action should not be taken against the airline.
The DGCA review indicated poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions. It was found that the suppliers and approved vendors were not being paid on regular basis. The DGCA review also showed shortage of spares and the airline operating on cash and carry.
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