Mumbai: Meeting held to resolve grievances of Air India Express cabin crew

Union had sought intervention as flight cancellations persisted. File pic

Representatives of a cabin crew union at Air India Express and airline management held discussions on salary and other issues during the meeting convened by the labour department as part of the ongoing conciliation proceedings. Room sharing, lack of proper support, revised salary structure and alleged differential treatment of experienced crew members of Air India Express were among the issues flagged by the union in this meeting.

A staffer form Air India Express in a conversation with mid-day said, "The Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), which represents a section of the cabin crew at the airline, had filed a complaint before the labour department last year. Following the complaint, a conciliation process is happening under the Industrial Disputes Act."

"Room sharing, lack of proper support, revised salary structure and alleged differential treatment of experienced crew members of Air India Express are among the issues flagged by the union," the staffer said.

"Various issues were discussed at the meeting, including those related to salary and accommodation for cabin crew during layovers," said another staffer who is also a member of the AIXEU.

"At the meeting, the management representatives assured us that the issues will be looked into. Though there were no major decisions taken, there will be another meeting on June 2, where we are positive that decisions will be taken," the staffer and AIXEU member added.

"Other issues that came up for discussion were about more utilisation of cabin crew at their base stations and steps to address problems related to airport entry passes for some cabin crew members," said a source from the airlines.

"Earlier this month, the AIXEU claimed that more than 100 cabin crew are sitting idle without flying duties for the last two months due to the non-availability of airport entry passes. On May 9, the cabin crew strike was called off after a meeting of the representatives of the union and the airline that was convened by the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) in the national capital," the source said.

The source also revealed, "The strike, to protest against alleged mismanagement at the Tata Group-owned airline, had resulted in significant flight disruptions. Tata Group is in the process of merging Air India Express and AIX Connect, as well as Vistara with Air India."

There was no comment from the airline at the meeting. But, the airlines spokesperson informed mid-day that the airline did not issue a statement as no major decisions were taken during the meeting and that there will be another meeting in the first week of June where decisions might be taken.