The ongoing strike by a section of Air India pilots appeared to be heading towards a resolution.
Cracks have already begun to surface, with three striking pilots rejoining work on Wednesday.
As the strike looked set to enter its 11th day, the decision to call off the strike hinges on whether – or how many – of the 71 pilots who were sacked are taken back.
Over 250 pilots had joined the agitation by reporting ‘sick'. This affected normal flight operations of the airline and caused a daily revenue loss of Rs 12-15 crore.
Of the 71 pilots who were terminated from service, 10 are office bearers of the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), which spearheaded the flash strike. The other sacked pilots are members of the Guild. The Guild is the apex body of the pre-merger overseas carrier Air India's pilots.
Face-saving formula
Sources indicated that both the Government and agitating pilots are looking for a face saving formula to exit from the current imbroglio. “We are ready to provide the Government with a face saving formula provided the interests of our members are looked after,” a striking pilot said.
Political parties are also said to be using their influence with the pilots to see sense and not worsen the situation.
The agitating pilots also spoke to Member of Parliament, Mr Sitaram Yechury, who heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture. The IPG is headed by a Member of the Legislative Assembly belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party.
On its part, the Government has shown that it is willing to talk with the pilots as long as they come back to work. The decision not to file contempt of court proceedings against the pilots and delaying the implementation of the contingency are all being interpreted as going slow on pilots.
Strong message
The Government is also keen to send out a strong message to all sections of Air India employees that this kind of action will not be tolerated in future. There were also indications that the Air India issue could be taken to the Cabinet soon.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on a plea by sections of pilots against a single judge order restraining them from continuing the “illegal strike” by reporting sick.
A two-judge bench is expected to pronounce the order on Thursday.
Besides, May 18 could be a decisive day for some of the agitating pilots. If the pilots who went on sudden sick leave do not report back to work on May 18, they would have remained on sick leave for 14 days.
The rules stipulate that if a pilot is on sick leave for 14 days, he or she would have to go through a full medical board before being allowed to fly. This is could take anything from a few days to a few months to complete.