Air India Pilots Threaten Legal Action If Dues Not Cleared: Trouble For Tata Group?

• The pilots sought payment of pending arrears and if they aren’t reimbursed, they will take legal action.
• The pilots said that the data based on the recovery was never disclosed. 
• Air India is going to handover to Talace Pvt. Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Tata Sons. 

Prior to Air India’s handover to Tata Group at the end of this week, the airline’s pilots have written to the management to seek corrections in regards to the deductions made in their arrears which were paid recently. The pilots have sought payment of their pending arrears and if they aren’t reimbursed, they will take legal action. 

Pilots’ letter Air India

In a letter dated January 24th, the pilots said, “We appreciate that the company is attempting to settle the long overdue arrears; however, we are disappointed in the unprofessional manner the process is being carried out. Multiple deductions and recoveries have been projected in the arrears statement of many of our member pilots. We strongly protest against this illegal act.”

The pilots said that they should have been informed about the reasons for the deductions before they were paid the reduced arrears. They have stated that the data based on the recovery was never even disclosed. This proves that the management had a malicious intent on the eve of the handover. This recovery excise is completely illegal and the pilots are demanding that this anomaly be rectified and the remaining amount is paid to them immediately. 

They have also said in the same letter that if this matter is not resolved in a timely manner, they would have no other choice but to seek legal recourse. Which would cause unnecessary burden to the new buyer after the handover. 

Internal message sent by Air India to employees

The letter has been written after an internal message was sent to Air India employees saying that their closing sheet was to be submitted by the end of Monday before it is forwarded to Tata Sons for review. The message also said that the airline is planning to handover to Talace Pvt. Ltd which is a fully-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, by Thursday. 

Talace Pvt Ltd is going to get 100% equity shares of Air India, Air India Express, and the government’s 50% stake in ground handling AISATS.