'Indian' employees strike; Passengers stranded

Mumbai, June 13: Passengers at all airports across the country are likely to suffer as nearly 15,000 employees of government-owned Indian (Airlines) are on a flash strike.

Frontline staff manning the counters, loader, cleaners and cabin crew went on strike last night after talks between the airline's management and the biggest union failed.

The Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU) accused the management of going back on its assurances for wage arrears and better promotional prospects.

Indian, which recently merged with Air India, also manages ground handling operations for 26 international airlines which will most certainly be hit by the stoppage of work.

''They are not paying our arrears for the past 10 years,'' said ACEU's general secretary Arun Kumar. ''That's why we've decided to go on this strike. We had gone on a strike before also, and management had assured us then that our demands will be met. But nothing has happened so far,'' he added.

Mr Kumar said the management is willing to pay arrears for the past seven years only while the commitment is of 10 years. The amount for financially-ailing airline totals up to Rs 800 crore.

Due to the indefinite strike, many passengers travelling on Indian were clueless at many airports overnight as their flights were delayed by several hours. No information was forthcoming as to when the planes will take off.

Chaos prevailed at Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi airports as passengers could not retrieve their luggage. Many international passengers missed their flights for the same reason. An Indian spokesperson said the dispute between employees and management was before the regional labour commissioner and talks were on. ''But the union leaders chose to go on strike, which is illegal. We are still interacting with the union leaders.'' The spokesperson added that the management is making efforts to resolve the strike at the earliest.

Meanwhile, a senior airline official said the strike is expected to hit Indian flights to Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Singapore.

Pilots and engineers are not a part of the strike though.

The government says that merged Indian and Air India will form a mega aviation entity having about 112 aircraft with both international and domestic footprint to set fresh benchmarks for efficiency and reliability.

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has also assured that there will be no retrenchment of employees as both airlines start integrating their operations.

UNI