8 Air India unions threaten to go on strike from April 2

   A  fresh trouble for crisis-ridden Air India, 8 unions representing a large chunk of the over 28,000 staff, today threatened to go on strike from Monday to protest delay in salary payments and sought Prime Minister's immediate intervention to resolve the situation.  As the management called the agitating employees for talks tomorrow, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh tried to soothe ruffled feathers of the protesters saying the government has "stood by them" before and would continue to do so.  The eight major unions, representing a cross-section of staffers ranging from pilots, engineers to ground staff, wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying they would implement 'No pay no work' policy from April 2 as the management was "withholding" their "legitimate wages".  Reacting to the threat, the Civil Aviation Minister said "let's hope they will realise that the government is doing all it can. The government has already intervened".  "The Financial Restructuring Plan (FRP) has been cleared by the Group of Ministers. A (cabinet) note has been moved. The Prime Minister was away for 2-3 days. So CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) has to be convened," Singh said, adding even the employees realise that "they are better off than employees of other airlines".  The agitators have alleged that they have not been paid salaries and allowances for over past three months.  "We will no longer be able to bear this agony which has been thrust upon us for no fault of ours. Therefore, we reiterate that if the management continues to withhold our legitimate wages, we will not be able to discharge our duties from April 2".  The memorandum to the Prime Minister was signed by representatives of the Indian Pilots Guild, Air India Officers Association, Air India Engineers Association, Air India Employees Union, Air India Cabin Crew Association, Air India Aircraft Engineers Association, All India Service Engineers Association and Air Corporation Employees Union.  The unions have been called for reconciliation by the top Air India management, including CMD Rohit Nandan, tomorrow, following which they are likely to meet Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi.  The decision to go ahead with their protest action came after the unions failed to secure any "firm proposal" on clearance of their dues at a meeting with the management in Mumbai today, the third such engagement in a week.  Earlier the management had promised a staggered schedule for payment of their dues -one instalment of salary and one of productivity-linked incentive (PLI) by this month-end, another instalment each of salary and PLI by April end and the remaining portion in May, by when Air India expected to get funds through the equity infusion of Rs 4,000 crore announced in this budget.  The unions also contended that "a significant number of employees come from humble backgrounds and modest means. While some have availed of education loans, others have financial commitments towards their families. Due to non-payment of our wages for an extended time period, we are unable meet our financial responsibilities," the union leaders said.  Air India faces a whopping Rs 67,000 crore debt and has reported a loss of close to Rs 6,900 crore this fiscal.