Ahmedabad AAI employees demand Pay Commission norms post privatisation

Having resigned to the fact that privatisation is inevitable, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) employees at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) in Ahmedabad are demanding wage norms as per the government's pay commission. Joining in the Airport Authority Employees' Union (AAEU) protest against the proposed privatisation of six airports including Ahmedabad by the central government, the AAI employees here have stated their demands to the government. The six airports where privatization is proposed are - Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur and Guwahati.

Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference, a senior AAI official said, "We don't understand why the central government is privatising Ahmedabad airport since it is one of the few profit making as well as the second largest airport after Mumbai in the western region. However, since the privatisation is inevitable, we are trying to make our demands clear."

The SVP International Airport in Ahmedabad earns a Rs 100 crore profit annually with almost 100 domestic and international flights running daily from here. Apart from compensation packages of Pay Commission standards, the employees are also demanding retention policies.

"Future pay commission should apply to us. Our compensation packages should be as per government rules even after privatisation. Also, AAI service terms and conditions should remain as it is for us. For instance, all the AAI employees should be retained and allowed to complete full service of 60 years of age. We are hoping these conditions will be met before the bidding process start," the official added.

The government has floated a global tender for privatisation which is being done on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.