IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, has dismissed some pilots after simmering dissatisfaction with ongoing pay cutbacks imposed at the start of the pandemic prompting calls for widespread sick leave on Tuesday.
“We confirm that a few of IndiGo pilots have been suspended from duty for engaging in activities that are in violation of their employment terms and the Company’s code of conduct,” the airline said in response to a query from The Hindu in a statement. The airline’s disciplinary action, according to some pilots, surprised them.
The airline’s pilots have expressed their dissatisfaction with substantial wage cutbacks that have persisted despite a recent uptick in demand for air travel and the waning of COVID-19 cases. Pilots’ salaries have been cut by 28% in the last two years, and their flying allowances have been half.
‘Grand union’ is a term used to describe
Last week, a few pilots called for a sick day on April 5 to protest the salary reduction and suggested organizing an IndiGo employee union, which would be followed by a “big union” of personnel from multiple airlines.
IndiGo’s compensation cuts were partially reversed last week in response to internal rumblings. It decreased wage cutbacks for pilots from 28 percent to 20 percent and examiners from 38 percent to 30 percent. It further said that beginning November 1, 2022, an additional 6.5 percent revision would be imposed.
While pilots at many airlines have been harmed by salary cuts announced shortly after the first wave of COVID-19 two years ago, those at IndiGo are the most enraged because of the airline’s huge pockets in comparison to others. Despite a difficult period during the epidemic, the airline recently recorded a profit of 130 crores after a two-year hiatus, as well as a cash balance of 17,318 crores, including 7,814 crores in free cash.
Stock options for employees
The fact that the airline has allocated employee stock options (ESOPs) to its top management for the fiscal year 2021 has also enraged the pilots. They also questioned how the airline could continue to add jets to its fleet while still reducing staff salaries.
IndiGo, with 278 planes, is also the market leader, with one in every two domestic air travelers traveling with it. In response to these developments, a senior DGCA official stated that the agency had “no role for us in the current disagreement, if any, between the two parties” as a safety regulator.