The topic of the week is the on-going pilot’s strike at national carrier Air India by members of the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) which began last month on the 7th making this strike almost a month old.
The strike has caused estimated losses exceeding Rs.350 Crore ($64 million) to airline. This at a time when the airline is on life support, receiving a desperately needed equity infusion of Rs. 1,200 Crore ($219 million) just to pay long pending salaries and critical vendor dues (oil companies, airports, etc.)
In a bold move the airline has sacked over 100 striking pilots and even the courts have ruled the strike illegal. The civil aviation minister Ajit Singh has held out an olive branch saying pilots concerns will be addressed. Now the IPG is continuing the strike demanding that all sacked pilots be re-instated by the airline before they stop striking. To read the view of the IPG, please see this article by Aeroblogger Rohit Rao.
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