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| Striking Air India pilots hold placards during a hunger strike in New Delhi yesterday |
Nearly 400 pilots have been on strike since May 7 but the government has refused to concede to their demands and instead sacked 101 of them.
The pilots’ protest centres on a decision by the airline to train pilots from Indian Airlines, which merged with state-owned Air India in 2007, to fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that is due to go into service later this year.
“We want to end the strike as soon as possible but we also want our demands to be met and our colleagues reinstated,” one of the 11 fasting pilots told reporters.
The hunger strikers are seated on a stage near Jantar Mantar observatory, in the heart of the capital city.
“Our protest is for the reinstatement of our sacked colleagues and for the recognition of our union,” Rohit Kapahi of the Indian Pilots Guild, which has been de-recognised by the government, said.
“The management has accused some pilots of being ‘ransom terrorists’ and terminated people who have clean records,” said Hari Shankar, another pilot.
Added a senior commander: “We do care about passengers. We have been flying for the past 18 months with delayed salaries to avoid inconvenience to them but now everything is out of our control.”
More striking pilots and their family members are expected to join the fast in the coming days.
The pilots said the management had refused to have a dialogue with them.
“We are asking them to talk to us but only dictatorship is happening. They can take away my career and my life but not my voice. This is my voice and I will speak up that injustice is being done to us,” Hari Shankar, a protesting pilot, said.
He appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ruling Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi to end the impasse.
“Through the media we want to appeal to the prime minister and Sonia Gandhi that they should pay heed to our appeals and we have full faith in them. Our management and the minister in charge have not cleared their stand,” he added.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh recently threatened to sack 280 more striking pilots if they did not end their protests.
Air India, already in deep financial trouble, has had to cancel several international and domestic flights, costing it about $93mn in lost revenue during the strike.