Waive Air India debt instead of selling it: Workers' union
An Air India employees' union has met NITI Aayog's Arvind Panagariya and demanded the government waive the airline's debt instead of selling it to a private player. Expressing concerns about the 25,000 employees, it has further demanded salary dues should be cleared before Air India is privatised. Notably, the government has given in-principle approval for disinvestment of Air India.
New Delhi, Jun 28 (PTI) An employees union of Air India today met NITI Aayog chairman Arvind Panagriya and demanded that the government waive the airlines debt, instead of selling it to a private player. However, the move may have come a little too late as hours later the Union Cabinet gave its in-principle approval for the disinvestment of Air India. NITI Aayog, the government think tank, had earlier proposed privatisation of Air India because of its debt of Rs 52,000 crore. "We request you to waive Rs 30,000 crore and give opportunity to Air India management to keep flying the flag of national carrier," according to a letter the Air India Employees Union submitted to Panagriya. Expressing concerns about the uncertain fate of 25,000 employees of the airline, the union representatives have also demanded that if Air India is privatised, their salary dues should be cleared. The union members also highlighted that the airline had incurred huge losses because of "hasty decisions and wrong civil aviation policy of the Government of India" such as the purchase of 111 aircraft and surrendering of profitable routes to private carriers. 