As employees protest against low salaries, IndiGo and GoFirst say addressing 'issues'

NEW DELHI:  Amid ongoing protests by technicians at two private airlines over poor pay,  IndiGo said they are in the process of addressing some of the ‘issues’ flagged by its employees, while Wadia Group-promoted Go First said the absentees have assured them to return to work from Wednesday or Thursday. 

A significant number of technicians at IndiGo in Hyderabad and New Delhi took mass sick leave last week to protest against low salaries, and changes in leave policy, among other things. This was followed by Go First (previously known as GoAir) aircraft maintenance technicians (AMTs) taking sick leaves to protest against their low salaries. 

“The aviation industry has undergone a difficult phase over the last 24+ months. As business recovers, we are in the process of addressing some of the issues related to employee remuneration. This is an ongoing activity and we will continue to take employee feedback in the process,” said IndiGo on Wednesday. It added that their operations continued to be normal.   IndiGo, which controls over half of India’s aviation market, has faced numerous HR setbacks in recent months.

Just a few days back, its cabin crew took mass leave to attend Air India’s recruitment drive and a few months back its pilots had protested against pay cuts. Like previous cases, this time to IndiGo has initiated disciplinary actions against the aircraft maintenance technicians (AMTs) who went on mass sick leave.  A senior captain with IndiGo, on the condition of anonymity, said the airline, which used to greatly value its employees, has become a not-so-friendly place to work in the last few years.

“The technicians can’t be paid or made to work like delivery boys or cab drivers,” he said. Go First, meanwhile, said there are a few technicians who were absent for 2-3 days. A spokesperson with the airline said they have reinstated staff from “Leave without Pay” to normal working conditions and restored salaries to the pre-covid level from August-September 2021.

 “During the course of discussions we understood that our employees were misguided and after counselling, they are happy to note/take cognizance the efforts of the company amid the turbulent volatile scenario and few people who had absented themselves from duties have assured us to resume from today or tomorrow,” the spokesperson said.