AIESL turns to retirees & newbies as stir halts ops

Nagpur: A prolonged strike by aircraft technicians at six Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) depots of Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL) has led to the company bringing back retired technicians and increasing dependence on fresh recruits to maintain operations. The move has triggered sharp objections from the striking employees' union over passenger safety concerns.The agitation, led by the Air Maintenance Staff and Technicians Union, entered its second week on Wednesday. The protest erupted after several technicians who had submitted resignations alleged that the management was refusing to formally relieve them despite completion of notice requirements.To meet the operational requirement, AIESL management began deploying retired technicians apart from using the freshers. A senior management official confirmed that nearly 50 retired technicians have been recalled to work at the hangars."At any given centre, nearly 50% of technicians are relatively new. They possess the required qualifications to work in an MRO environment," the official said, dismissing concerns that the arrangement could compromise aviation safety. The union, however, accused the management of endangering safety standards by assigning "highly sensitive maintenance activities" to inexperienced recruits and retired personnel who have been away from active maintenance work for several years."Aircraft maintenance is a highly specialised and physically demanding responsibility. Handing over such work to apprentices and retired staff who have been out of touch for two to six years is unsafe," the union said in a statement.The standoff has now drawn the attention of the central labour department. Officials are examining whether provisions of the Code on Wages can be invoked in the matter. If implemented, the law would require AIESL to settle terminal dues within two days of an employee's final working day after resignation. Deputy Labour Commissioner (Central) Subapriyadarshini Muthupandi confirmed that the matter was under examination.Labour officials have also reportedly scrutinised AIESL's human resources policy and observed the absence of a "deemed approval" clause commonly found in other govt organisations. Such clauses automatically treat resignations as accepted if management fails to respond within a specified time frame."AIESL cannot indefinitely hold back employees merely by delaying approval of resignations," a labour department official said.According to union estimates, nearly 180 technicians from AIESL depots across the country have submitted resignations so far, raising fears of prolonged disruption in aircraft maintenance operations if the impasse remains unresolved.