Dharmadhikari suggestions: HC to hear AI case tomorrow

The Bombay High Court is set to a hear on Tuesday the ongoing legal tussle over the implementation of the uniform work schedule for erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India employees in the southern and western zones.

A senior Air India official said: "An order to implement a uniform work schedule for all employees of the unified airline in accordance with the recommendations of the Justice Dharmadhikari committee was passed in January this year. The regional directors were asked to work out the shift schedules, depending on requirements in each of the four zones. While it was executed in northern and eastern zones, employees went to court in south and west and got a stay order which has held up the execution process."

A hearing on the issue is now scheduled on October 8.

Previously, Indian Airlines employees had to follow a six-day working schedule stretched across 44 hours every week, while their Air India colleagues worked for 38 hours spread over five days a week. Air India employees were additionally off on weekends.

"Legally, we can ask all employees to work for 48 hours every week, but we decided to make it uniform at 44 hours. Having different work hours for different employees created confusion in shift timings, held up transport services. Productivity got affected," the official added

To integrate all operational functioning parameters of the airline, it was decided that all non-operational employees would work for five days and 44 hours in a week and those involved in operations will have six days and 44 hours working schedule. The measure was aimed at improving availability and increasing productivity of employees in the unified company.

Employees in southern and western zones, however, protested and moved court over the increase in shift timings.

Earlier in January last year, the Dharmadhikari Committee had recommended measures to integrate 27,000 employees of erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines such that the services and the manpower in the merged entity can be utilised for the optimum benefit of the company.

The recommendations intended to bring parity in career progression, pay structures and harmonise the working hours for all employees. The airline has already given proforma promotions to around 800 employees and promoted an added 1,400 employees in the engineering department in the airline (these had been held up since the formal integration of the two airlines in 2007).

While the processes are under way to revise pay scales, Air India has introduced a new salary structure from the start of this financial year, which entails a pay-cut of up to 15 per cent for licensed category employees. The new pay structure also does not include the productivity-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.