Mumbai: Around 20,000 hotels, restaurants, licenced tea and snacks outlets as well as ubiquitous vada-paav stalls in Mumbai go on strike to protest the new service tax (ST). "In Mumbai, around 18,000-20,000 hotels and restaurants have expressed solidarity with the move to protest the new ST on fully or partly airconditioned eating houses," Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association (AHAR) general secretary Shashikant Shetty said.
Monday's action is part of an all-India protest launched by hoteliers and restaurateurs who have strongly denounced the new tax, which was implemented from April 1. Managements and patrons have been hit hard, Shetty said, adding that restaurant bills have been hiked by as much as one-third for those preferring to have their meals in air-conditioned comfort.
Terming the new service tax unjustified, AHAR has said the last union budget "exploits" the common man who comes to eating houses to satisfy his hunger. Shetty said AHAR and other organisations have already made written submissions to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Finance Minister P Chidambaram but to no avail.
"Most MPs we met gave us a patient hearing but pleaded helplessness," he said. He pointed out that a majority of AHAR members in Mumbai were small eating joints which kept a part of their premises airconditioned in view of customer demands....
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10:55 AM, Apr 29, 2013
Claiming that their two-day nation-wide strike has generated an "unprecedented" response, central trade unions on Wednesday said the success should serve as a wakeup call to the government for settling their demands, even as they deplored reports of violence on the first day. Union leaders regretted that they were being blamed for causing Rs 20,000 crore loss to the economy and wondered if the government was aware of the loss...
02:14 AM, Feb 21, 2013
Industry body Assocham on Wednesday expressed the fears that the loss to GDP due to the strike by central trade unions could be about Rs 26,000 crore, higher than its initial estimate of Rs 15,000-20,000 crore. ...
01:15 AM, Feb 21, 2013
The 48-hour long Bharat Bandh called by trade unions, which began on Wednesday, paralysed transport and banking services in many parts of the country. However, the worst affected was Noida, as the protests took an ugly turn with factory workers targeting vehicles, even setting many on fire. ...
08:03 PM, Feb 20, 2013
New Delhi: The Air India pilots on Wednesday confirmed the end of the strike, saying they will the conciliation process from July 6. "We respect the sentiments and the order of High Court. We have started the procedure of joining work. We are hopeful of management appreciating steps of resolving the issue. We hope that the issues will sorted in a time bound manner," Captain Rohit Kapahi said, while representing...
11:08 AM, Jul 04, 2012
The 58-day long strike of the Air India pilots finally came to an end on Tuesday evening. ...
08:53 AM, Jul 04, 2012
New Delhi: The agitating Air India pilots on Tuesday called off their two-month-old strike, following assurance from the management. The representatives of the pilots on strike said that 434 pilots would give affidavits indicating their willingness to return to work. This comes after the Air India management also assured that it would consider reinstating the 100 sacked pilots. The striking pilots had earlier on Tuesday promised the Delhi High Court...
11:30 PM, Jul 03, 2012
New Delhi: Hours after promising that they would return to work, the striking Air India pilots are now refusing to end their strike despite assurances from the management. They had earlier promised the Delhi High Court that they would return to work within the next 48 hours. Representatives of the pilots on strike had even said that 434 pilots would give affidavits indicating their willingness to return to work. The...
08:56 PM, Jul 03, 2012
New Delhi: Air India pilots have agreed to end their 57-day long strike on Tuesday. The pilots have given the decision to join back to work in writing to the Air India management. "We will decide on calling off the strike after consulting our lawyers. We are happy with the High Court order," Indian pilots' Guild (IPG) said in a press release. A total of 434 pilots were on strike...
01:41 PM, Jul 03, 2012
New Delhi: Agitating pilots of country's national carrier Air India on Thursday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress top brass to step in to resolve the impasse over the 52-day long strike, as the condition of some of them on protest fast worsened. The Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG), which is spearheading the agitation and the five-day-old hunger strike, shot off letters to Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and...
07:46 PM, Jun 28, 2012
New Delhi: Cash-strapped Air India has suffered a loss of around Rs 500 crore due to the 45-day old pilots' strike, forcing the airline management to extend its curtailed international flight plan till July 31. Air India has lost around Rs 500 crore in terms of revenue in the ongoing strike, as the airline has been incurring losses to the tune of about Rs 10 crore per day, sources said,...
08:32 PM, Jun 20, 2012
Air India prepares to sack all 300 striking pilots. Ajit Singh tells CNN IBN that he's run out of patience. ...
11:36 PM, Jun 11, 2012
New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Wednesday stood his ground on the Air India strike. He snubbed striking pilots, saying they will have to reapply for a job as the airline will hire new pilots. It has been 30 days since the Air India pilot strike began forcing the airline to suspend key international operations. Meanwhile, in Delhi and Mumbai, pilots of the erstwhile Indian Pilots Guild took...
06:39 PM, Jun 06, 2012
New Delhi: Air India is going to induct about 100 new pilots in the next few months, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said on Wednesday while virtually shutting the doors for striking pilots, asking those sacked to apply afresh. Indicating that the 101 sacked pilots could be replaced by new ones, Singh said 90 pilots were currently undergoing training and would be available for flying in August. "We're making sure...
05:28 PM, Jun 06, 2012
Mumbai: The Air India pilots' strike entered the 30th day on Wednesday and there is still no end to the stand-off between them and the management backed by the Civil Aviation Ministry. The pilots under the de-recognised Indian Pilots Guild have now written to the Air India Chairman saying that a channel of communication needs to be opened up between both sides to resolve the current impasse. The IPG in...
11:24 AM, Jun 06, 2012
New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday asked three office-bearers of the de-recognised Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), leading the pilots' strike, to appear before it on Monday and explain as to why their flying licenses should not be cancelled for not joining duty. As the strike led by the IPG entered the 25th day, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation asked the three office-bearers to appear before it on June...
10:48 PM, May 31, 2012
New Delhi: A truce between Air India management and striking pilots may be on the cards after Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Friday met the pilots. Sources told CNN-IBN that the sacked pilots may be taken back on the case-to-case basis. The Air India management is also likely to hire pilots for international operations soon. Taking a tough stand on the issue earlier, the Aviation Minister had blamed...
01:55 PM, May 25, 2012
New Delhi: The Air India crisis has entered the 15th day on Tuesday and there is still no clarity on when the pilots' strike will end. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh met 13 Air India unions on Monday to discuss the turnaround plan and the future of the national carrier. While sources claimed that one of the requests by the unions was to reinstate the 71 sacked pilots, the Air...
08:49 AM, May 22, 2012
New Delhi/Mumbai: The crisis in Air India raged on for the 13th day on Sunday and the national carrier's losses mounted to Rs 230 crore as the impasse between agitating pilots and the management continued. "The loss due to ticket cancellations, unused labour and with the bulk of our Boeing-777 fleet grounded now stands at Rs 230 crore. Our losses per day stand between Rs 13-15 crore," a senior official...
07:19 PM, May 20, 2012
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by the Indian pilots guild challenging the single-judge order that had restrained the pilots of Air India from going on strike, terming it as illegal. The High Court said that the plea of the striking pilots "cannot be entertained as they are guilty of contempt". The decision by the single-judge bench was upheld by a division bench of Justice...
05:10 PM, May 17, 2012
