Pie in the sky

Here they go again. The tantrums of air-traffic controllers would be an annual fixture to set calendars by 8212; if they were not of far greater frequency. Unions in the aviation sector never have covered themselves with glory, but the ATCs just stepped over the bounds within which the imperative for reasonableness applies. Any union which declares, publicly and brazenly, that it will not work with new radars that would improve air safety until its demands are met, needs to have the full force of discipline and the law brought down on it. This, believe it or not, is what the ATCs are saying in effect: 8220;Meet our demands or we shall play havoc with passenger safety8221;. Leave alone professionalism, this is inhuman and contemptible. What description to apply to a body of alleged professionals which declares that it will not hesitate to jeopardise lives whatever the provocation it might have suffered? The provocation itself is suspect and the demands are outlandish to the point of being comic. The worthies, it wouldseem, are currently inclined to settle for a modest 10 per cent of basic pay for each hour of work. That, for senior ATCs with a basic pay of Rs 9,000 a month, is Rs 900 per hour, several lakh a month. This is as if the recommendations of the Julka committee were not generous enough for wanting to add Rs 30,000, on an average, to their pay packet. This newspaper would welcome information about a 100 per cent pay raise by any government anywhere to any employees.

Work is a contract between the employer and the employee where both sides agree to abide by certain rules of the game. When one side becomes irresponsible to the point of refusing to recognise these, the game breaks down. In such an event, unless the contract itself specifies what happens in such a contingency, the other party reserves the right to make up the rules as it goes along. The ATCs have shown that they do not care about the lives of passengers. This is not propaganda: the Delhi and Mumbai airports safety ratings have been lowered veryrecently by international bodies. Quite simply, the government is not obliged to do business with them. Indeed it is imperative that it does not. It is the result of past weak-kneed policies in dealing with them 8212; witness the giveaways by the aforementioned Julka committee and by Jayanti Natarajan as minister 8212; that have so emboldened this lot that it casually makes these despicable threats. The only way to deal with them is discipline, and this has to be so harsh that they will not dare to hold aviation to ransom again. It behoves the government to refuse to hold any talks for now. A strike should bring swift legal action and the use of substitute employees. The flying population deserves an apology, not the government giving away taxpayers8217; money to petulant and unscrupulous employees. The onus of trying to restore their credentials is entirely on the ATCs. It is doubtful if they ever can redeem themselves. What is certain is that if such gross misdemeanour is rewarded, no one should complain the nexttime they are even more obnoxious 8212; if that is possible.