Air India Express union accuses airline of unfair labour practices, seeks intervention of labour commissioner – Airlines/Aviation News

The cabin crew union of Air India Express has accused the airline of unfair labour practices, citing grievances such as the issuance of charge sheets to its members. The Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), affiliated with the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, has sought intervention to address these concerns and has written a letter to the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) in this regard.

This development occurs amidst ongoing conciliation proceedings before the CLC (C) regarding disputes between the cabin crew members and the airline management. The union alleges that the management’s actions are detrimental to fostering positive industrial relations.

“…their actions are spoiling the industrial relations already affected by their unfair labour practices and violations of labour legislation,” he claimed in the letter dated June 28.

Charge sheets issued, disciplinary actions taken

Among the specific grievances outlined, the union claims that charge sheets were issued to cabin crew members who took sick leave from May 6 to 8, and that disciplinary actions are being initiated selectively against union members.

The controversy follows a previous incident on May 7, when approximately 200 cabin crew members staged a strike against alleged mismanagement at the Tata Group-owned airline, resulting in widespread flight cancellations.

Subsequently, the airline management terminated the services of 25 cabin crew members and issued warnings to others to resume work promptly or face similar consequences.

The strike concluded on May 9 after a conciliation meeting facilitated by the CLC (C), during which the termination letters were retracted.

Union sought interventions from Chief Labour Commissioner

In their latest communication, the union attributes these issues to what they describe as management’s monopolistic and uncompromising behavior. The union claimed that the issues had occurred “due to the monopoly and adamancy behaviour of the management”. They urged the CLC(C) to intervene and address the ongoing challenges faced by the cabin crew members.