Click to play videoNew Delhi: Around 700 Air India engineers went on a flash strike on Tuesday to protest against the management's order against speaking to the media.
Striking union members reportedly manhandled some cabin crew at the Delhi airport warning them not to report for work.
Many Air India flights have been cancelled following the strike with flight from Bagdogra, Patna and Srinagar to Delhi being delayed. Air India Corporation loaders and cleaners are also likely to join the strike.
Air Corporation Employees Union says the timing of the gag order by the airline management is wrong.
"Actually it is a very wrongly timed order. Employee unions do make mistakes. We accept it but the fact of the matter is when the employees and their unions are fully cooperating with such a national tragedy that has taken place the management should have some sense. In fact our union has given a call on May 15 to go on strike on May 31. In fact after May 22 (the day an Air India Express plane crashed in Mangalore) we ourselves understood the gravity of the scene and we have deferred our strike action that is to take place on our issues. Basically there was no need for management to take such an action at this point of time," said Vivek Rao, Western Region Secretary of the Air Corporation Employees Union.
Air India had recently decided that the May salaries would be delayed by a week.
The ACEU claims representation of 12,000 members of the erstwhile Indian Airlines including ground-handling and technical staff and cabin crew.
ACEU is part of the Civil Aviation Joint Action Front (CAJAF), a joint platform of 11 recognised trade unions in National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL).
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