AAI employees threaten stir again

Even as the government signed an agreement with private consortia headed by the GMR Group and the GVK Group to transfer the Delhi and Mumbai airports to private ownership, Airports Authority of India (AAI) employees have threatened to block services at airports.

"Signing the agreement is one thing and handing over the airports is different. They may have succeeded in signing the agreement, but transferring the assets will not be easy," M K Ghoshal, convener, AAI Employees' Joint Forum said.

The government, on its part, said there was no going back on the privatisation and modernisation projects.

"We have made it clear that the issue of Delhi and Mumbai airports cannot be revisited and there is no room for negotiations on this front," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said. The government had taken steps to ensure than no AAI employee lost his job as a result of the projects, he added.

According to the AAI employee union and Left sources, the strategy for the possible strike would be finalised soon.

According to Ghoshal, the government had not gone ahead on its various commitments to employees as part of its bid to end the earlier protest launched by them. If implemented, this will be the second strike by airport employees in less than three months.

The earlier strike was called off after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured the employees that the government would take care of their concerns. Senior Left leaders met the prime minister on Monday to press for the government to meet its commitments to the tripartite committee.