It’s time to get ready for flight delays for anyone who is traveling by Air India on Friday.
The reason—Air India may not be able to pay salaries to lower grade employees as earlier promised. In protest over 20,000 workers will stop work between 1 and 3 in the afternoon.
George Abraham, secretary of Aviation Industry Employees Guild, said, “We have learnt from the accounts department of Air India that they are not in a position to pay tomorrow. The entire higher management has gone incommunicado. If 20,000 of the airlines employees come out and protest then it means no flights can take off or land anywhere in the country on Friday afternoon.”
The cash- strapped airline had earlier announced that there would be a two-week delay in the June salaries paid to 32,000 employees.
After a long negotiation with unions, the airline agreed to pay lower grade employees like baggage handlers and junior clerks by July 3.
Now that promise may not be kept. Air India’s monthly wage bill is around Rs 300 crore and the company is seeks a Rs 15,000 crore from the government.
But while it tries to cut corners, it’s clear it may not be able to avoid paying wages for much longer.