Engineers’ union denies stir

Alliance Air on Saturday operated Friday’s flight to Jodhpur with 37 passengers, after arrival of an aircraft from Delhi. IA officials said two out of the three aircraft based in Mumbai have been grounded due to technical snags.

In the last seven days, about 15 flights of Indian Airlines and its subsidiary, Alliance Air, have been delayed, four postponed, and sixcancelled at the Mumbai airport.

Denying press reports that aircraft maintenance engineers of IA had resorted to an “unofficial” go slow and work-to-rule agitation, officials said the delays in the last few days was due to the multiple effect of technical snags, the work-to-rule agitation by a section of Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials, and stir of the Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs).

Reacting sharply to the recent press reports, General Secretary of the All India Aircraft Engineers’ Association, B K Satapathy, said: "We have not declared any strike, but our management is trying to show us in a bad light as it does not want to concede our demands for a hike in Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI). As of now, even IA cabin crew earn almost 10 times more PLI than us."

Already the IA faces a severe paucity of spares that are available only in Mumbai and New Delhi on which, again, all airports in the country depend.

"Suppose we decide to merely to work to rule, then no aircraft of I-A will beable to fly on schedule. Most of the snags have been reported by pilots and they have to be attended to and we also work overtime, if required. We are also certifying certain aircraft under the Minimum Equipment List of the DGCA maintenance manual," Satapathy said.

Satapathy explained that the engineers were just expressing their resentment at the management’s indifference by "not putting in that extra effort." "Earlier, the engineers used to personally collect spares from the stores to save time, but now we have stopped this practice. An engineer now fills in the requisition form to obtain the spare which is sent to him by the stores on the next day …naturally, the aircraft which could be repaired in a day will now take two days," he said.

Meanwhile, the proposed "total tool down" protest of the National Airport’s Authority Officers Association was today suspended following the release of proficiency allowance by AAI and assurances of discussions on other issues.

The officers, engaged in crucialroute navigational facilities, radar and communication network maintenance are demanding parity in all respects with the Air Traffic Controllers.