Air India De-recognizes Its Two Major Employee Unions

On May 27, 2010, Air India de-recognized its two major trade unions. The air carrier, which is struggling to revamp its marred image after the Mangalore air crash, not only sealed the offices of the two unions, but also sacked 41 union activists.

What Led to the De-recognition of Unions by Air India?

The airlines announced its decision in the wake of the two day illegal strike resorted to by the powerful unions: Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU) and All India Aircraft Engineers Association (AIAEA).  Air India accused the unions of violating the Code of Discipline and claimed that the unions disrupted the company’s normal functioning and breached industrial peace.

The two day strike resulted in a loss of revenue amounting to Rs.120 million ($2.5 million) and more than 100 flight cancellations for Air India. It also caused inconvenience to 13000 innocent passengers who were stranded at various airports. The Civil Aviation Secretary M. Madhavan Nambiar has assured full government support to Air India and allowed the carrier to take actions to ensure that unions maintain decorum.

Following the Delhi High Court order to the union to call off the strike, the union officials refused to talk to the media. They, however, said that they are awaiting hearing at the Bombay High Court on May 28 on the same matter.

The union officials have decided to talk with Chief Labour Commissioner S.K. Mukhopadhyay, who was mediating on their behalf; since he had assured the unions about no victimization by the Air India management.

However, in the wake of de-recognition of the unions and sacking of union activists, the union officials have issued fresh strike call to be started from June 12, 2010. The carrier, in the mean time, is gradually restoring normalcy by pressing flights back to schedule.