Flygere mister forhandlings- og streikerett - India

Civil aviation ministry wants pilots out of Industrial Disputes Act (India)

The civil aviation ministry has decided to request the labour ministry to remove pilots from the workmen category under the Industrial Disputes Act.

NEW DELHI: In a move that could take away rights of pilots to form unions, the civil aviation ministry has decided to request the labour ministry to remove pilots from the workmen category under the Industrial Disputes Act.

"We are going to ask the labour ministry to remove pilots from the workmen category thus taking away the right to go on strike," said a senior civil aviation ministry official.

The official added that civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju has asked aviation secretary V Somasundaran to take up the issue with the labour ministry.

If approved, pilots will not be allowed to go on strike. Currently, workmen category employees that include pilots can go on a strike by giving 15-day prior notice to the management.