Work Environment - Storm In The Cockpit

September 2009 marked a black month in the history of the airline industry in India. The month began with pilots of Jet Airways reporting sick en masse, seriously disrupting operations. The airline was practically paralysed without the pilots actually being on strike. No sooner had the stand-off between the pilots and the management been resolved than the executive pilots of Air India adopted the same tactics bringing a strident management practically to its knees.

Hopefully, the management of airlines, whether private or government owned, would have learnt a few lessons, the main being that without the wholehearted support of the pilot body, an airline cannot function. The airline industry enjoys high visibility, and a ‘strike’ which paralyses the functioning of any airline has a direct impact on the elitist segment of society and hence always grabs the headlines.

Cause & Effect

Unions generally resort to a strike when the views of the management and the employees are on a collision course. The situation turns explosive when the management, in an attempt at cost control, employs aggressive tactics that impinge on sensitive matters such as emoluments and job security. In October 2008, Jet Airways terminated around 800 cabin crew that were surplus to requirement owing to a slowdown in the industry in the wake of the economic downturn. The cost burden of dispensable manpower was unaffordable. However, under pressure from different quarters, the management relented and withdrew termination orders.

In July 2009, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which has all private airlines in India as its members, threatened to boycott work for a day on August 18 and delivered a veiled threat of complete shutdown to pressurise the government to bail them out of financial distress, which in their view, was largely attributable to high tax on Aviation Turbine Fuel and exorbitant airport and other charges the airlines had to pay. On account of lack of unanimity within the FIA owing to clear division between the legacy carriers and the low cost airlines as also some armtwisting by the government, the threat turned out to be a fizzle leaving a lot of red faces around.

Accumulated losses suffered by the airlines during the turmoil in September was estimated to be around 450 crore even as more than two lakh passengers with confirmed bookings were inconvenienced due to the rather sudden cancellation of flights, both domestic and international. Credibility of airlines in both the sectors took a severe beating.

On September 8, the largest private airline in India, Jet Airways, was rendered partially non-functional after almost half the strength of the 750 pilots reported ‘sick’—a devious route to ‘strike’. The agitation lasted for five days before the management and the newly-formed pilots’ union, the National Aviation Guild (NAG), agreed to reconcile and end the impasse. Apart from huge financial loss, the credibility of the airline built up over 15 years was badly mauled. Passengers were inconvenienced for a week and pilots lost public sympathy.

Pilots of Jet Airways resorted to this unprecedented and undignified step because two of their colleagues were sacked for their role in forming the union, the NAG, in July 2009. Till then there was no pilot’s trade union in this airline. Their services were terminated without a ‘show-cause’ notice. It is the constitutional prerogative of pilots to form a legitimate trade union and hence the action by the two pilots was very much in order. However, the management was of the view that for redressal of grievances, a union was unnecessary. Those who thought otherwise were, therefore, sacked. This triggered the impasse between the management and the pilots. The Executive Director justified the sacking, insisting that a trade union was a gross violation of the disciplinary code of the company.

Pilots & Labour Unions

With pioneering programmes like the Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots (SWIP) already in place in the airline since 1998 or the Jetman Programme launched in 2002, the working environment ought to have been congenial. However, the management has been often arrogant and harsh, whether with the cabin crew in October 2008 or in the recent case with pilots. Speaking on national television, Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal decried pilots as “terrorists”. Many felt this was unwarranted and thoughtless.

The management sought assistance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the government but in vain. They also moved a case in the Mumbai High Court, further strengthening the pilots’ resolve and aggravating the confrontation. There were apprehensions that the management might declare the airline ‘sick’ and down shutters. Fear of loss of jobs drove the ground staff of the airline to rise in protest against the pilots. Politicians could not be left far behind with one calling for nationalisation of the airline. A former Joint Secretary of the Indian airline’s pilots union sided with the pilots and alleged violation of flight safety norms by the management during the strike. It became a freefor-all leading to complete chaos. It took six days to break the stalemate. The management climbed down and the two pilots sacked earlier, were reinstated but there were no clear winners. Compelled to reverse its decision for the second time in a year, the management of Jet Airways appeared in poor light.

A labour union, especially in India, is a thorn in the management’s side. In the case of Jet Airways, it took 15 years before a pilots’ union was formed. Their grievances under the SWIP, they say, do not address their problems because the present system is biased in favour of the management who generally follow a heads-I-win-and-tails-you-lose philosophy. The management regards adherence to company rules and disciplinary code essential prerequisites for effective and efficient functioning of the airline. No doubt Jet Airways, in recent years, has had an impeccable record in delivering a high rate of on-time performance and good flight safety credentials.

Following the truce, a committee consisting of five members each from the management and the pilot body has been formed to discuss and formulate solutions to contentious issues. However, with the background of bitter conflict between the pilots and the management, one can never be absolutely certain as to how the situation will evolve.

Even as Jet Airways was limping back to normalcy, a section of ‘executive’ pilots of Air India resorted to mass sick report on September 26 protesting the 50 per cent cut in Productive-Linked Incentive (PLI). Originating in Delhi, the protest spread to the other metros but was called off four days later after the government assured the striking pilots that there would be no reduction in PLI. Pilots claim the issue is yet to be resolved as payment of PLI continues to be held in abeyance.

Intriguingly, the ‘executive’ cadre of pilots—and not the pilots’ union, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association—chose to adopt this methodology to take on the management. Normally, the executive cadre pilots are expected to side with the management and as per service rules, are not permitted to agitate publicly. In Air India, line pilots who are active members of the union, have the option to graduate to the executive cadre holding appointments such as Operations Manager, General Manager or Director, Flight Safety and are responsible for day-to-day running of the airline.