The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) has decided to defer the March 9 strike to March 15 after assurances from the Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr Vayalar Ravi, that the grievances of Air India pilots will be addressed.
“The meeting with the Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr Vayalar Ravi, and the Civil Aviation Secretary, Mr N. Zaidi, was very cordial. On assurance from the Minister that the Air India Management will now address our issues in a serious manner, the ICPA has decided to defer the strike,” said the ICPA General Secretary, Mr Rishabh Kapoor.
The pilots threatening to strike were engaged in talks with the Chief Labour Commissioner, Mr S.K. Mukhopadhyay, till late last evening. The pilots had previously met the Civil Aviation Minister.
The ICPA, which represents around 800 pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines, had served a 14-day strike notice for work stoppage on March 9, under Section 22 of the Industrial Disputes Act, to Air India's Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Arvind Jadhav, charging the management with having failed to address their grievances and violated agreements on issues like pay parity and better working conditions.