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THE Mumbai Deputy Labour Commissioner (Central Office) has sent a notice to ground handling staff of Bird Worldwide Flight Services (BWFS) Mumbai Private Limited, asking them to suspend their operations at the airport for non-compliance with labour laws. The Commissioner has also sent a showcause notice to the operator of Mumbai airport, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), for “suppressing information” of employing ground handling staff to assist foreign airlines at work.
The move came after CM Devendra Fadnavis met social activist Anjali Damania on Sunday to address concerns of protesting Cambata Aviation Private Limited workers, demanding their pending salaries after the company had declared bankruptcy. On October 12, State Labour Minister, Sambhaji Patil-Nilangekar, assured Cambata workers of repaying their pending salaries. Damania alleged that BWFS took over operations at the airport after Cambata had shut down.
In separate letters issued to BWFS and MIAL, the Assistant Labour Commissioner, P D Sunny, has questioned their compliance on labour laws. In the notice sent to BWFS, the Commissioner has questioned the working of BWFS “without obtaining a valid license issued by a competent authority under the Contract Labor Act, 1970.” The Assistant Commissioner has also pointed at various prosecution complaints filed against the ground handling agency and has asked them to stop their ground handling operations at the airport.
Replying to the query on the notice, BWFS said, “BWFS Mumbai Private Limited is not in receipt of any letter or notice from the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner. However, we would like to categorically state that BWFS Mumbai does not have a single employee on a contractual basis at the airport, we only have full-time permanent employees on our roll. Therefore, we are not in violation of any act or law.”
In a showcause notice to MIAL, the commissioner has questioned MIAL on allowing ground handling agencies to work at the airport without ‘Certificates of Registration.’
A senior official from MIAL said they would not like to comment on the issue but would reply to the Assistant Labour Commissioner’s office. While Sunny did not respond to calls or messages sent, Chief Labour Commissioner, Karamchand, confirmed that the letters were sent.
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