Air India Pilots’ Unions Allege Violations Of Tata Code Of Conduct; Seeks Hold On Revised Pay Structure 

Three weeks after the Air India management introduced revised pay structure for its pilots and cabin crew, two pilots’ unions have written to the airline’s management alleging that the revised terms are in violation of Tata Code of Conduct (TCOC). The unions—Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and Indian Pilots Guild (IPG)—have also pointed out other TCOC violations by the company’s HR department in a joint letter issued by them to Air India’s chief ethics councellor on Monday. 

TCOC is a comprehensive list of corporate values and ethical code of conduct to be followed by all Tata group companies, originally laid down by Ratan Tata. The Tata group, via its fully owned subsidiary Talace Pvt Ltd, took over Air India on 27 January, 2022. 

The unions claim that Air India’s present hiring practices are in violation of ‘equal opportunity’ practices as mentioned in TCOC. The hiring of India-based foreign pilots, at almost twice the salary, twice the number of paid days off and better service conditions is demonstrative of discrimination against Indian pilots, the letter states. 

The Air India management is also accused of prioritising commercial convenience over flight safety. In the revised terms of employment, introduced on April 17, pilots are obliged to accept any changes to made to published roster. This would undermine basic safety factors such as ensuring that pilots are sufficiently rested, the unions allege. 

The unions had already objected to the revised terms of employment and compensation on the day it was issued because they were not consulted prior to the framing of new terms. They also threatened the airline management with ‘industrial unrest’ if the new terms are enforced. Further, the unions also asked its members to refrain from accepting the new compensation structure as it allegedly violated labour norms. 

In the joint letter issued by the unions on Monday, a total of 15 TCOC violations were listed. The letter further appeals for the revised terms of compensation to be put on hold pending further enquiry. Although the airline's management set April 25 as the deadline for pilots to accept the new wage agreement, Outlook Business learned that only 20 to 30 per cent of pilots have accepted the revised terms so far. 

With the majority of pilots and the management failing to reach a compromise about the matter, around 1,500 pilots had already sent a petition to Air India’s chairman emeritus Ratan Tata on 25 April, seeking his intervention to resolve the deadlock.