AAI employees to go on hunger strike against proposed privatisation of airports

Airports Authority of India (AAI) Employees Union has called for a three-day hunger strike to protest against the Government of India's decision to privatise six airports.

The protest will begin from Monday.

The Union Cabinet last month cleared a proposal to manage Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and three other airports under the PPP. The three other aerodromes are those at Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mangaluru.

In a release, the AAI employees union has said, "The policy of the government is not clear with regard to profit making industries and the Union is carrying out the Industrial Action due to media report of the proposal of PPP, the Union carrying out Industrial action as well as Mass Casual Leave 28.12.2018 Relay Hunger Strike on 10.12.2018 to 12.12.2018."

It added, "Public-private partnership (PPP) model causes denial of Job opportunities to the society coming under the purview of SC/ST/OBC group as reservation policies restricted only to Govt. sector. The government not allowing the AAI Board to function administratively to bring higher growth in order to meet the requirement of rural/urban Airports and frequently media printing RFQ/ PPP of Airports."

The union also said, "Govt. 2015 dropped the PPP and allowed the AAI to commensurate the projects of the above Airports and accordingly many other projects AAI is in progress and some of the Airports projects completed to meet the requirement of public policy."

It added that the private airports are expensive and not efficient in any manner. They also said, "They are the killer of growth in aviation sector in long run.