AI pilots oppose secret ballot for recognising trade unions

Air India's plan to whittle down the number of recognized trade unions from 15 to two through a secret ballot has hit turbulence with its two pilot bodies deciding to boycott the exercise citing a Bombay High Court order and even warned of seeking contempt action.
The national carrier currently has 15 recognized trade unions representing around 22,000 employees of erstwhile Indian Airlines, besides Air India.
The airline has decided to trim the number of recognized unions to five--two for Air India and three for subsidiaries- following the report of an expert panel, which has recommended their downsizing for better coordination between the management and employees' representatives.

Of the two proposed recognized unions in Air India, one would be of the pilots and the other of the rest of the employees.
The exercise has been scheduled for next month.
However, the pilots are up in arms against the management over the move.

"You are hereby directed not to engage in any sort of dialogue with the secret ballot committee on recognition of unions and also not to participate in the secret ballot," a joint statement signed by the general secretaries of the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) and Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) said recently.
While ICPA is the recognised union of the erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots, the IPG, which lost its recognition following a nearly two month-long strike in the airline in May 2012, represents Air India pilots.

The two pilot unions have directed their members to "strictly" follow the boycott call.
"We shall under the circumstances be at liberty to take such action as may be necessary and legally advised including contempt for violation of the order of honourable Bombay High Court," the IPG said in a separate communication to the airline.