NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Xinhua) -- The Delhi High Court Wednesday restrained pilots of India's national carrier Air India from going on strike, after agitation by the state-owned air company's pilots continued for the second day, forcing cancellation of four international flights.
The airline Tuesday sacked 10 pilots who went on "mass sick leave," protesting the move to provide Boeing-787 Dreamliner training to pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines, which was absorbed by Air India, reported Indo-Asian News Service.
India's Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has also asked the pilots to report back to work, or face punishment by government aviation authority, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, as they were threatening the survival of the debt-ridden air company, if they go on the strike, said local TV channel Times Now.
Air India plunged into turbulence Tuesday as it canceled at least four international flights after more than 100 pilots went on a strike, citing health reasons.
Two hundred more pilots have also threatened to join the strike arising out of the rescheduling of the Boeing 787 dreamliners training program as well as over the time-bound promotion.
"They are free to come forward with their grievances but they can't just call in sick. The money that the government gives to Air India depends on performances; there's a time period involved. They can come forward for talks but can't put the passengers in distress," Singh said on Tuesday. The strike comes a month after the Indian government had cleared a massive bail-out package for the cash-strapped state-owned carrier. In March, a major chunk of Air India's over 28,000 employees threatened to go on strike from April 2 over non-payment of salaries and dues.
The proposed strike was called off after the national carrier promised to clear all salaries and other dues by June. -- NNN-XINHUA
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