AAI employees on strike path over privatisation of airports
With support base of more than 100 active branches across the country and around 120 airports under AAI the unions are planning a big show of strength.
Airport Authority of India employees are on strike path yet again. The joint forum of Unions and Association of Airport Authority of India will meet on Friday morning to chalk out the date for indefinite hunger strike and mode of agitation at the various airports across the country. Four union and four association will be part of this meeting in the national capital. These employees are against the governments policy of privatisation of airports.
A member of AAI Association on condition of anonymity said "We plan to protest outside Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan every Tuesday for four weeks. 300 members will participate and express their displeasure. After that we will sit on an indefinite hunger strike".
With support base of more than 100 active branches across the country and around 120 airports under AAI the unions are planning a big show of strength.
Balraj Ahlawat heading the AAI Union says "This policy of privatisation is against the passengers, government and employees". Alhawat argues if the airports are privatised then the User Development Fee (UDF) will go up tremendously which in turn will impact the passenger turnout and eventually reduce passenger growth.
Another AAI employee who didn't wish to be identified said privatisation had put their future in the dark and that Delhi and Mumbai were classic examples of the same. He alleges that interests of the employees are never kept in mind and that they are transferred to airports like Kandla, Pantnagar, Belgaum, Surat etc which have minimum working facilities.
Government has extended the bidding date for the privatisation of Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur Airport to last week of May.