Hundreds of aircraft maintenance staff have not reported to work in the last ten days at the airports across the country, forcing the Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), the largest Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO) company in India, to rope in third-party firms to ensure timely daily maintenance of the operating aircraft.
The mass walkout of workers started on May 13, following a number of demands by the employees, including withdrawal of a policy restricting employees from switching jobs, revision of salary, implementation of a dearness allowance, and implementation of the new labour code, among others. Employees alleged that AIESL has not responded to their demands so far.
AIESL handles multiple fleets of aircraft such as the
commonly used A320 family, A310, A330, and B737NG, B747-400, B777, B787, and others.
The total country-wide strength of AIESL engineering staff that conducts the daily maintenance work on aircraft is about 1,800 to 2,000, operating at different airports: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, etc. There are about 1,000-1,200 more non-technical staff in the company.
Working eight hours in a shift with Rs 85 paid per hour for overtime, the technical staff is responsible for crucial maintenance work on aeroplanes, like maintenance of the hydraulics, pre- and post-flight checks, maintenance of engines, wheel brake change, landing gear maintenance, among others.
The employees say that they reached out to the Chief Managing Director of AIESL, Vineet Goel, and to the General Manager, Gurmeet Singh, with their demands, but no action was assured.
“In Delhi alone, at least 400 workers are not reporting to work. Overall, country-wide, it is more than 2,000 workers, but the company is paying no attention to our demands. We have only demanded a better pay structure that is on par with permanent employees. Last year, in a notice, we were also restricted from getting an NOC if we wish to leave this company and join work elsewhere. We also demand that notice be withdrawn,” said Suraj Kumar, senior aircraft technician, who was terminated from his job on May 14, following their protest.
Kumar said another of his colleagues has been terminated for the same reasons. “On the first day when we protested for our demands, the company also called the police to disperse us. Since then, none of us have reported for work. The company has hired two third-party firms to manage timely maintenance of the aircraft, but almost every day some technical malfunction issue is being reported because the current workforce is not that efficient,” he added, highlighting the safety of aircraft.
Another senior aircraft technician, Sandeep Poswal, said we have had multiple meetings with the HR departments and the other administrators of the company, but no solution has been found. “We demand those who have been terminated be reinstated. We demand labour code be implemented and equal work, equal pay be initiated. In Delhi, none of us, at least 350-400, are going to work,” Poswal said.
The employees also said they are planning a large protest outside the Ministry of Civil Aviation in the coming days with workers from across the country.
News18 reached out to both Chief Managing Director Vineet Goel and General Manager Gurmeet Singh for comments, but no response was received.
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