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Air India, the national carrier, said Friday all its flights are operating normally despite a two-hour protest by nearly 20,000 workers across the country over a delay in the payment of salaries. “All Air India flights in the entire network operated normally as per schedule today,” the carrier said in a statement. “As stated earlier, Air India had taken requisite steps at all airports to ensure normalcy of flight operations so that passengers were not inconvenienced by the agitation.”
Earlier this week, the carrier had agreed that June salaries to about 8,000 lower-grade employees would be paid Friday. The carrier, which is in the middle of a financial crunch, had previously deferred June salaries and perks to a total of 31,000 workers until July 15.
“The management has backtracked on its commitment made on June 29 which is why we are staging this walkout,” said Dinkar K. Shetty, president of Air Corporation Employees Union, the single largest employee union within Air India. “We will decide on a future course of action this evening.”
