Chaos at airports, agitators ignore suspension, ultimatum

New Delhi, Jun 13 (UNI) Chaos reigned at most airports across the country, with most Indian (Airlines) flights delayed or cancelled and domestic and international passengers put to severe inconvenience as employees of the government-owned airline continued with the strike, ignoring suspension threat and ultimatum by the Government.

The employees said they will continue their strike till their demands for wage revision and better promotion prospects are met.

They however, expressed their willingness to hold negotiations with the management, but not with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, whom they accused of conspiring to help private airlines.

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

However, the government took a tough stand, giving the agitating employees an ultimatum to withdraw their strike by this evening, and served suspension notices on 23 employees.

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said 40 per cent of Indian airlines flights had been disrupted due to the strike, but added that adequate measures, including outsourcing, were being taken to bring near normalcy.

He said the Government would rethink on the Rs 267 crore arrears package if the strike was not withdrawn, noting that the Union had agreed to the package that the Government had offered despite the airlines facing a financial crunch.

''But when the negotiations were on in the presence of the Chief Labour Commissioner last evening, the Union suddenly walked out and called a flash strike without giving any notice,'' he added.

''This was a reckless move on the employees' part,'' the minister said and asked them to end their strike for their own future and the future of the airlines.

However, ACEU's general secretary Arun Kumar said the decision to go on strike came because the management was not paying their arrears for the past 10 years.

''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.

Chaos prevailed at Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi airports as well as other airports throughout the country as passengers could not retrieve their luggage. Many international passengers missed their flights, as Indian staff also manage ground handling operations for 26 international airlines which were also hit by the stoppage of work.

In Chennai, both international and domestic flights of Indian were badly affected, with an indefinite delay of the arrival of Chennai-Singapore (IC 555) flight, scheduled to leave Singapore at 0050 hrs last night, official sources said.

The strike partially affected operations from the Nedumbaserry International Airport, in Kochi, with IC975 Cochin-Sharjah flight, cancelled, while other flights took off, but after delays. Flight operations at the Tiruchirapalli International Airport were also hit.

Operations at the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad were also affected, with three flights being cancelled and several others delayed.

All Indian (Airlines) flights on the Delhi-Srinagar sector were running late due to the strike.

No in-bound flight landed at Agartala airport, which affected the air traffic while a good number of passengers were stranded in the airport lounge since morning.

However, there was no major impact at the Jaipur airport, with no cancellations of Indian flights today and the airport functioning as usual. The airport director said two Indian flights have left as per schedule in the morning.

Meanwhile, the Chief Labour Commissioner today declared the strike illegal and liable for prosecution under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947.

''This strike had been called by the Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU) which represents ground operations and clerical staff.

The strike appears to be an attempt to create confusion by a few Union leaders for unknown reasons as all reasonable demands have been agreed to,'' he said.

UNI