After working for the company for decades, a number of senior Air India employees, including pilots, cabin crew, ground crew, engineering crew, and even those involved in administration, are beginning to feel insecure.
After decades of work, senior Air India employees feel insecure.
On condition of anonymity, a senior member of the Air India cabin crew told Moneycontrol, "Many employees were afraid that the Tata group would look to get rid of the older workforce and replace them with new professionals and the same looks to be coming true."
He said that, Older employees of the airline are also afraid for their careers as a result of the Tatas' introduction of a new voluntary retirement plan (VRS) paired with the airline actively seeking for new hires by staging an employment drive around the country.
On January 27, the Tata group took over management of Air India, and as part of the Rs 2,700 crore arrangement, the government made sure that Tata Sons would be required to keep all of the airline's employees for a year as part of the share purchase agreement. Additionally, as part of the agreement, the Tatas had the choice to offer VRS if they wanted to lay off workers after a year.
For permanent workers who have reached age 55 or 20 years of uninterrupted service with the airline, Air India introduced a VRS in June. The eligibility age for the VRS has been lowered from 55 to 40 years for some members of the cabin crew, office workers, and unskilled employees as part of the new VRS.
According to a source at Air India's main office in New Delhi, the new management has come under fire from the airline's personnel over a number of concerns, including salary cuts and the government evicting them from staff housing in Delhi and Mumbai.
Older Air India employees have expressed serious concern about the new management's lack of interest in the airline's personnel housing problems in Mumbai and Delhi.
