High fliers

Over the years Air-India has come to be regarded as a modern-day kalpatharu, the mythical tree of everlasting bounty. Everybody has benefitted from its seemingly unending patronage 8212; from senior officials to union leaders, from disgruntled pilots to disgruntled cabin crew. As these self-styled high fliers soared higher and higher, the national carrier in sharp contrast kept sinking ever-deeper under its losses. The Air-India annual report for 1996-97 tells its own story: net losses for the year had increased by 9.2 per cent over the previous year and stood at a glorious Rs 296.94 crore. The reasons for the losses were of course many but a monstrous wage bill was also acknowledged as a significant factor.

Nothing symbolises the arbitrary and ad hoc fashion in which Air-India8217;s officials handled the issue of wages than the instituting of the rather euphemistically titled 8220;performance-linked incentive PLI bonus8221; for its top officials. Incidentally, in order to justify the term 8220;performance8221;,benchmarks were actually lowered to show enhanced achievement. The office of the Comptroller and Auditor General CAG was certainly not impressed by the rationale offered for such a scheme and had in its hard-hitting reports stated that the PLI scheme had already cost the airline Rs 286 crore and was a big drain on Air-India8217;s precious resources. It recommended that the scheme be withdrawn from July last, at least for government officials on deputation to the airline. But instead of prompting some soul-searching among these officials, the move 8212; predictably enough 8212; had the contrary effect of prompting them to run for their notepads. As The Indian Express reported on Wednesday, the four officials presently availing of this benefit have submitted in separate but identical representations that the withdrawal of the PLI scheme was discriminatory. They argued that it was part of the terms and conditions of their service.

What these four do not evidently want to recognise is that the scheme itself isfaulty in that it violates the regulations that govern remuneration of government employees on deputation. One of the principles that has been enunciated time and again is that 8220;the terms granted to government servants on deputation must not be so greatly in excess of the remuneration which the government servant would receive in government service as to render the foreign service appreciably more attractive than government service8221;. Yet all the four who are presently deputed to Air-India are earning anything from 184 to 300 per cent more than what they would have been earning in their parent departments thanks partly to the generous PLI scheme. Mean-while the representations of the aggrieved officials have been despatched to the Aviation ministry where, hopefully, they will be met with the contempt they deserve. As for the officials concerned, they must be told firmly that the free lunch that they have been helping themselves to all these months is over, and the quicker they recognise this thebetter.