Indian Airlines Cancels Flights Amid Walkout BUSINESS ASIA By Bloomberg

By Kartik Goyal

Indian Airlines, the third-biggest Indian domestic carrier, canceled flights and reported delays Wednesday as more than 12,000 workers went on an indefinite, nationwide strike demanding arrears, more wages and promotions. The workers, including ground, ticketing and baggage-handling staff, announced the strike Tuesday night after talks with the management were inconclusive, said Ashok Sharma, spokesman for the state-owned Indian Airlines.

The striking employees represent about two-thirds of the airline’s work force of more than 18,000. Indian Airlines operates 320 flights daily.

“Many flights have been reported canceled or delayed in other cities,” Sharma said. “Incoming flights to Delhi are also getting delayed.”

There has been “some impact on international flights,” Sharma said, adding that a flight from Madras to Singapore had been canceled.

The strike could further erode the carrier’s market share as more people choose to fly Deccan Aviation and other low-fare airlines in India. The government has promised to merge Indian Airlines with Air India by July to help it compete more efficiently with private carriers and to protect jobs.

“We want the matter to be solved before the merger of the two companies,” said J.K. Badola, a general secretary for the Air Corporation Employees Union, the biggest of the airline’s seven unions. “Wage revisions for the last 10 years are pending and workers haven’t got their dues.”

Wednesday’s strike follows a walkout for a few hours by the same workers May 17.

The Indian civil aviation minister, Praful Patel, was to hold a press conference on the strike in New Delhi on Wednesday, Maushumi Chakrabarty, a ministry spokeswoman, said.

The strike is “illegal,” as talks on the pay dispute had been adjourned this week by the central labor commissioner, Sharma said. The airline flies under the name of Indian.

The payment of 10 years of wage arrears totals about 4 billion rupees, or $98 million, Badola said last month. The demand pertains to wage increases dating back a decade that have not been paid out because the airline has been reporting losses.

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