Air India will have to wait till March to implement new HR policy: Report

As the airline battles accusations of inadequate action against a drunk man urinating on a woman during a flight, Air India will have to wait till March to implement its new HR policy, a report in the Economic Times (ET) said. 

According to the acquisition agreement signed with the government in January 2022, the airline is not allowed to change the "terms of employment" for one year. The policy, thus, can only be implemented after March 2023. The new agreement was to be implemented on January 1 but has been postponed due to opposition from unions, the report added. 

"Tatas don't have a hire-and-fire culture...Air India has therefore created indirect recognition programmes to reward customer-centric behaviours and encourage accountability by taking ownership of outcomes. We are focused on implementing the Tata Code of Conduct by removing biases and prejudices within the organisation. We are encouraging interactive feedback and asking employees to look at facts and data, and not be influenced by rumours and speculation," a senior executive of the company told ET. 

The management has also finalised a new service agreement which includes key performance indicators and key result areas. The executive said that the change would be faster if there is increased accountability. 

The aviation regulator DGCA has asked the airline to maintain a database of all unruly passengers.

It also asked the airline to refer the incident to the internal committee which will decide the duration of the ban for flying the unruly passenger within 30 days and this can extend from zero days to a lifetime ban.

A senior DGCA official said that the airline concerned shall refer the incident to the internal committee comprising three members including a retired district and session judge as chairman, a representative from a different scheduled airline as a member, and a representative from a passengers association or consumer association or retired officer of the Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum as a member.

After the decision of the internal committee, the airline shall maintain a database of all such unruly passengers and inform the same to DGCA which is the custodian for maintaining the"No-Fly List".

"It may be noted that the period for which an unruly passenger can be put on 'No-Fly List' is the sole decision of the internal committee of the airline concerned," said the regulator.

(With agency inputs)