Air India pilots reject 5% rollback in pay cut

Air India pilots have refused to accept the 5% roll back in "illegal pay cut" and asked Air India CMD to donate it towards funds for building the Parliament or PM CARE. In a letter to Rajiv Bansal, Air India chairman and managing director, the two pilot associations -- Indian Pilots' Guild and Indian Commercial Pilots' Association -- said: "We do not accept this paltry 5% roll back in illegal pay cut and you may advice the concerned to donate this 5% towards funds for building the Parliament or PM CARE". Air India pilots said they will be forced to resort to "industrial action". "We have given the management every benefit of doubt as well as ample time to redress the issue of disproportionate pay cut for pilots of Air India and its subsidiaries so there is no point left in mincing words. If we do not see a timely substantial reduction in this disproportionate pay cut, we will be forced to seek justice through harsher means including 'Industrial Action'," they added. Even MPs have taken a lower pay cut, the pilots said. "While the parliamentarians themselves have taken a cut of only 30% on gross emoluments and vehemently refused to take a higher cut, we think it is completely egregious for us pilots to continue tolerating this arbitrary massive pay cut of 55% on our gross emoluments," the letter said.<br/>