A government proposal to explore the privatisation of flag carrier Air India has been met with outrage by flight unions, which have threatened large-scale protests.
Seven unions have requested a meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Gajapathi Raju to voice their concerns over the ‘arbitrary and unilateral’ recommendation to sell off the airline.
A formal recommendation was put forward by the government’s top policymaking body NITI Aayog.
"We urge you not to accept the hurried recommendations by the NITI Aayog and not to force the employees of Air India to agitate which will lead to industrial unrest and disharmony," a letter from the unions addressed to the minister said.
The letter raised fears over mass job losses, including those which are in so-called ‘reserved categories’ as the ‘private sector has no obligation to follow the reservation policy,’ it said.
The letter was jointly signed by unions the Corporate Employees Union, AI Employees Union, AI Aircraft Engineers’ Association, United Air India Officers’ Association, AI Engineer’s Association, AI Cabin Crew Association and AI Service Engineers’ Association.
The unions also questioned how attractive the airline would be to an investor as it has huge debts and only commands about a 14% share of the domestic market.
It is this very point which has sparked talks of a sell-off, according to finance minister Arun Jaitley.
"Civil aviation is turning into a good success story in India… we have a lot of private sector players running very efficient airlines in India," Jaitley said, adding that the taxpayer should not be forced to prop up a failing airline forever.
