AI pilots seek restoration of pre-Covid pay

Mumbai: Seeking the restoration of their pre-COVID-19 monthly pay, Air India's pilot body ICPA has said its members continue to be "punished with the harshest and longest-standing pay cuts in the domestic market".

In yet another letter to Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hadreep Singh Puri, the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) said the assurances given by the minister in the past acted like a bulwark against the alleged apathetic behaviour of the Air India management towards the pilots during these trying times.

"However, more than 12 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, we find it quite demoralising that even your office has not addressed any of our grievances," the ICPA said in the letter on Monday.

Last April, disinvestment-bound Air India had cut its pilots salaries by a massive 55 per cent to deal with the liquidity crunch in the wake of the pandemic. It, however, restored 5 per cent wages from the total reduction last December, still leaving their salaries 50 per cent lower compared to the pre-pandemic times.

"The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging the country without mercy.

"We have painstakingly apprised you of our plight under the vicious and illegal pay cut instituted by the Air India management (more than a year old now) through numerous representations and meetings," the pilots' union said.

It said the pay cut continues despite its members undertaking the longest, most challenging and most diverse missions under the Vande Bharat scheme. "Now, to compound our woes, this deadlier second wave has gripped the country requiring travel restrictions on Indians worldwide due to the elevated risks of infection."

"The number of passengers and crew testing positive for COVID-19 has increased fourfold, and consequently, the rate of infections has shot up drastically for the Air India pilots and also for our family members.

"It was already an uphill task to arrange timely medical support like hospital beds and oxygen cylinders for our increasing numbers and now, the situation is becoming chaotic," it said.

Stating that the pilots have not even been categorised as front line workers despite having been at the frontline from Day 1, the letter said: "Ironically, we were the first to get a pay cut but are the last to be considered for vaccination."