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Our Bureau

New Delhi, June 26 To reduce its wage bill, Air India has launched a ‘voluntary leave without pay’ scheme.

Employees taking up the scheme will be allowed to go on leave for a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years during which period they will have to forego their pay, allowances and productivity-linked incentives.

The need for such a scheme is being felt, as the wage bill of the airline’s workforce of about 31,500 constitutes almost 35 per cent of the total cost of operations.

The scheme, introduced a few days back, will remain in force till July-end.

Staff availing themselves of the scheme cannot take up another job in a government or public sector undertaking.

The AI management has retained the right to reject or accept the application of any employee.

The drastic step has been necessitated with the loss-making airline affected by falling yields and rising aviation turbine fuel prices. The airline reported a loss of Rs 5,000 crore last year.

The idea of implementing such a scheme was first floated at the Hyderabad Air Show last October. However, the idea was not taken forward at that time.

More Stories on : Human Resources | Airlines | PSU

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