After Left protest, Govt delays decision on AI-Indian merger

The Left parties have opposed the proposed merger, saying it will adversely affect the interests of staff of both airlines.

The Committee of Secretaries (CoS) had already approved the merger.

“The GoM feels that issues related to employees of both the carriers need to be looked into and has asked me to have another round of discussions with various sections of employees,” Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said after the GoM meeting.

Patel said the exercise would be completed in a week and the GoM, headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will meet again in a fortnight.

“The two carriers have different sets of norms regarding the welfare and seniority of the employees. This has to be addressed before the merger happens,” Yechury told The Indian Express. “Genuine concerns of the unions have to be addressed.”

Reiterating his stand that the merger was not going to lead to any retrenchment, Patel, when asked about any dissent over the move from employee unions said, “There may be some employee issues which may require further discussion. We would be happier taking them on-board before taking the merger decision rather than afterwards.”

Denying that there was any lack of communication with the employees of both the carriers, Patel said that the CMDs of both the airlines had already written individually to all the employees within their organizations spelling out the objective and rationale behind the merger. He also stuck to his previously stated deadline of the end of the fiscal for the merger.

On the cost of the merger, Patel said that the one-time cost would be roughly Rs 200 crore, while the benefits arising out of the merger will amount to Rs 800 crore and the cumulative annual benefits will be to the tune of Rs 500 crore.

Patel also said the recommendations made by the CoS on tax and stamp-duty issues had been accepted by the GoM. Patel said that the income tax related issues will be tackled by amending Section 72 A of the Income Tax Act and the incidence of stamp duty is within manageable limits.