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Divestment proposal -- AI staff demand job security

Our Bureau

CHENNAI, June 5

THE Air India Employees' Guild (AIEG) is in principle agreeable to privatisation of the airline, provided the workers are ensured job security and trade union rights are protected, according to its Regional Secretary, South India, Mr. R. Muthukumar.

Summing up the opinions expressed by the AIEG representatives at a two-day workshop on increasing trade union awareness to the AI disinvestment proposal here, he said that the two issues were the primary concerns. This could be tackled by making the proc ess of disinvestment transparent and through dialogues with workers' representatives.

While the problems faced by the airline was due to various management and policy decisions, the workers should not be penalised. They were willing to provide total co-operation for improving the performance, but the bureaucratic problems and political in terference affected the competitiveness, he said.

Voicing their concerns, some AIEG representatives said that the management should be more open about the process and help increase employee awareness. If fund infusion was the goal of disinvestment, employee stock option, and raising funds from the worke rs through bonds and debentures could be considered, they said.

The workers could be given a representation on the board, and their views taken into account regarding operations of the airline. There was a mismatch between flight availability and the seasonal demand for specific routes. Also, a united forum with repr esentation of various unions in AI could be created to put forward the workers' views, they said.

The two-day workshop was organised by the International Transport Workers' Federation. The federation plans to hold a national convention later in the year to provide a common platform for the AI workers to voice their views.