MUMBAI: Air India will start the process of shifting more than a third of its employees to a ground-handling joint venture with Singapore Airport Terminal Services on Friday to reduce its staff strength to comply with conditions for a turnaround plan amid opposition from two different unions.
Some Air India employees at the Delhi Airport will move to the new entity from Friday, said a person with the direct knowledge of the matter. “By next week, people in Mumbai will also join the bandwagon,” the person added.
Around 12,000 people will become part of the ground-handling joint venture, Air India Singapore Airport Terminal Services (AISATS), if the national carrier manages to successfully carry out the massive transfer of employees.
“We are not sure about the number of employees who will be deputed,” said an Air India spokesperson. The unprofitable airline, which looks to focus on its core functions after forming a separate team for ground-handling, is facing teething opposition from unions. AISATS, which looks to take over groundhandling from the airline’s whollyowned arm Air India Air Transport Services Ltd (AIATSL), is already facing resistance.
AISATS, which came into existence by starting operations in Bangalore in 2008, has now spread its wings to Hyderabad and New Delhi. The joint venture together employs around 300 people at Bangalore and Hyderabad international airports. Air India’s MD Arvind Jadhav had recently stated that the joint venture would draw its manpower from the national carrier’s mammoth workforce.
AISATS’ plan to commence operations at Trivandrum airport last month has run into rough weather with the staff of Air India Air Transport Services Ltd (AIATSL) asking the state chief minister to immediately intervene in the issue as the staff have complained about reporting for duty under a foreign agency.
Air India currently has three different unions representing its ground-handling services and the management is yet to arrive at a consensus with the unions. “They are still in talks with us. One of the unions representing ground-handling work has agreed to the conditions, but there are two more who are yet to be convinced.
Until then, they cannot push this down our throat and we will not comply to this,” said a union leader. While Aviation Industry Employee Guild has agreed for the transfer, Air India Employees Union and Air India Service engineers Association, representing larger number of ground-handling employees, are still on the war path.
“Air India could have taken approval of the large chunk of the affected people before effecting the transfer. Unmotivated employees serving the passengers is not good for the airline,” said Jitendra Bhargava, former Air India executive director.
According to analysts, the groundhandling market in India is worth .`15,000 crore and AISATS is looking at capturing more than 75% of the market. Private Airlines’ Federation had challenged the government’s new ground-handling policy on the ground that right to self handling would be lost and more than 3,000 people would be deprived of their jobs.
The verdict, expected to come on July 5, will seal the fate of the private ground-handling operators.
Some Air India employees at the Delhi Airport will move to the new entity from Friday, said a person with the direct knowledge of the matter. “By next week, people in Mumbai will also join the bandwagon,” the person added.
Around 12,000 people will become part of the ground-handling joint venture, Air India Singapore Airport Terminal Services (AISATS), if the national carrier manages to successfully carry out the massive transfer of employees.
“We are not sure about the number of employees who will be deputed,” said an Air India spokesperson. The unprofitable airline, which looks to focus on its core functions after forming a separate team for ground-handling, is facing teething opposition from unions. AISATS, which looks to take over groundhandling from the airline’s whollyowned arm Air India Air Transport Services Ltd (AIATSL), is already facing resistance.
AISATS, which came into existence by starting operations in Bangalore in 2008, has now spread its wings to Hyderabad and New Delhi. The joint venture together employs around 300 people at Bangalore and Hyderabad international airports. Air India’s MD Arvind Jadhav had recently stated that the joint venture would draw its manpower from the national carrier’s mammoth workforce.
AISATS’ plan to commence operations at Trivandrum airport last month has run into rough weather with the staff of Air India Air Transport Services Ltd (AIATSL) asking the state chief minister to immediately intervene in the issue as the staff have complained about reporting for duty under a foreign agency.
Air India currently has three different unions representing its ground-handling services and the management is yet to arrive at a consensus with the unions. “They are still in talks with us. One of the unions representing ground-handling work has agreed to the conditions, but there are two more who are yet to be convinced.
Until then, they cannot push this down our throat and we will not comply to this,” said a union leader. While Aviation Industry Employee Guild has agreed for the transfer, Air India Employees Union and Air India Service engineers Association, representing larger number of ground-handling employees, are still on the war path.
“Air India could have taken approval of the large chunk of the affected people before effecting the transfer. Unmotivated employees serving the passengers is not good for the airline,” said Jitendra Bhargava, former Air India executive director.
According to analysts, the groundhandling market in India is worth .`15,000 crore and AISATS is looking at capturing more than 75% of the market. Private Airlines’ Federation had challenged the government’s new ground-handling policy on the ground that right to self handling would be lost and more than 3,000 people would be deprived of their jobs.
The verdict, expected to come on July 5, will seal the fate of the private ground-handling operators.
