NEW DELHI: In a move that could take away rights of pilots to form unions, the civil aviation ministry has decided to request the labour ministry to remove pilots from the workmen category under the Industrial Disputes Act.
“We are going to ask the labour ministry to remove pilots from the workmen category thus taking away the right to go on strike,” said a senior civil aviation ministry official.
The official added that civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju has asked aviation secretary V Somasundaran to take up the issue with the labour ministry.
If approved, pilots will not be allowed to go on strike. Currently, workmen category employees that include pilots can go on a strike by giving 15-day prior notice to the management.
This is not the first time that the civil aviation ministry has moved a proposal requesting the labour ministry to remove pilots from the workmen category. However, this is the first time the Modi government has moved this proposal.
The proposal to remove commanders from the ‘workmen’ category was first proposed in 2009 when nearly 650 Jet Airways’ pilots disrupted operations for five days.
The proposal was again discussed by the government in May 2012, when Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG) – union for erstwhile Air India pilots – went on over a month long strike. There has, however, been no movement on these proposals yet.
