Air India climbs down to set up panel on pay cut

The National Aviation Company Ltd, or Nacil, which runs state-owned Air India, today agreed to form a committee to look into the productivity-linked incentive (PLI), or flying allowance, paid to executive pilots. The executive pilots will get full salary until the committee comes out with its report.

This is a softening of stand by the Nacil management, which had on Wednesday announced a cut in PLI ranging from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. This was a trigger for pilots to go on a not-so-successful strike.

Some executive pilots have not reported for work since Friday night, disrupting 34 out of 400 flights on Saturday.

Today’s announcement came after a three-hour meeting between the management and 20 executive pilots in Mumbai.

However, V K Bhalla, the representative of the agitating executive pilots, said the pilots in Mumbai were never a part of the agitation, so they could not negotiate. “Pilots in Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai will continue their agitation and will report sick,” he said.

The committee will consist of executive director (finance), executive director (industrial relations), general manager (operations) and representatives of the agitating executive pilots.

“The airline will set up a committee to look into all concerns on the PLI cut raised by the agitating pilots. The committee will discuss all the modalities,” said Jetendra Bhargava, executive director, corporate communication, Air India.

The pilots said they would try to bring the operations back to normal.

“The committee will look into the PLI modalities and we have been assured that till it comes out with a decision our salary structure will remain the same as it was earlier,” said an executive pilot who attended the meeting.

The airline said it had cancelled flights on sectors with low passenger load and with alternative flights, either by itself or by other airlines.