Trouble In Air: After Vistara, Air India Technicians Plan Strike On April 23

New Delhi: After Vistara, trouble is mounting for Air India Ltd. with aircraft technicians planning a strike later this month.

Technicians at AI Engineering Services Ltd. – a state-run maintenance, repair and overhaul firm and an erstwhile Air India unit – will strike on April 23 due to various issues affecting their “well-being” and “professional growth,” All India Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Union wrote in a letter dated April 8 to the chief executive officer, Bloomberg reported.

A representative for Air India said the situation is being monitored closely.

Air India is AI Engineering’s biggest client.

AI staff are upset over the lack of career advancement opportunities because they haven’t been promoted in the past seven years, according to the letter. The management promised a revised pay structure for technicians who have worked for at least two years with the firm but hasn’t followed through. The contractual employees, who form 75% of the company’s workforce, feel discriminated because they have to serve longer notice periods and aren’t given as many benefits as the permanent staff, the letter added.

A representative for AI Engineering said the management has initiated discussions with the union to resolve the issue. AI Engineering has revised the salaries of all staffers except technicians as a court case is pending, it said. The company is planning to revise the pay of technicians after the union withdraws a court case, wherein it requested equal pay for contractual employees and permanent ones, the report added.