Pay disparities spark resentment in IAF

In Chandigarh today, nearly 400 airmen and members of their families aired their grievances. Later a delegation met Vice-President Krishan Kant, who was in the city today. Last evening, the airmen had taken the unusual step of coming down personally to the newspaper offices in Chandigarh to express their resentment.

According to reports, ground duty officers and airmen had also voiced their protest at other places in the country. For instance, at Hindon near Delhi, wives of technical officers are planning to file a public interest litigation and register protest.

The Air Headquarters received message from the Air Force Station Car Nicobar that the situation is going out of control. The station is, apparently, unable to handle any administrative duties. These are the first such incidents in the IAF’s 65-year history.

Sources said a large number of officers and airmen across the country had put up redressal of grievances (ROG) to higher authorities.

The ROG is the last official resort to project their views, but these usually move through a fixed channel taking a lot of time.

According to IAF officials, authorities were caught unawares by the situation and had sounded the respective Commands and Air Headquarters of the situation. So far there was no indication as to how the situation would be dealt with. Legal experts said as per the Air Force Act, such collective’ actions were prohibited. Section 21 of the Act declares that holding collective demonstrations amounts to insubordination and inciting mutiny. Such acts invite stringent penal action (including death or life imprisonment).

The IAF personnel, who collected today, were aware that their actions went against service rules and that they could be penalised. They, however, added that they were only refusing to accept their salaries and not deviating from their assigned duties.

Sources said while the pay panel had substantially enhanced the allowances of Flying Branch personnel, ground duty officers did not figure anywhere. This has created considerable inconsistency in the pay scales of officers wearing the same rank. As per the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission, the qualification pay for engineers has been enhanced from Rs 375 per month to Rs 750 per month. The pay of Air Traffic Control Officers and radar operators has been hiked from Rs 70 per month to Rs 140 per month from Rs 100 per month to Rs 200 per month, depending on their category. Apart from regular salary and perks, other ground duty branches get no allowances.

On the other hand, the flying pay of pilots had been increased from Rs 1,200 per month to Rs 11,000 for test pilots, Rs 9,000 for fighter pilots and Rs 7,000 for transport pilots.

“While there has been a 800-per cent hike in the allowances of pilots, we got nothing,” commented a ground duty officer.

Officers said this disparity would have a considerable effect on their professional performance and inter-branch coordination as well as social lives, as “it has created different classes of officers within the same organisation”.

Another move proposed by technical officers is to dissuade engineering students from joining the Air Force. These officers plan to forward letters to engineering colleges around the country about the bleak career prospects and the socio-economic segmentation as a result of the Pay Commission.

While ground duty officers were demanding increase in their allowances following the hefty hike in flying pay, airmen want an increase in their basic salary.