IndiGo to 'rationalise' salaries of technicians following mass sick leaves

IndiGo on Monday said it will "rationalise" the salaries of its aircraft maintenance techniciansand remove "anomalies cause by the pandemic", according to an internal communication.

A sizeable number of the airline's aircraft maintenance technicians went on sick leave on Saturday and Sunday in Hyderabad and Delhi to protest against their salaries, sources said.

On July 2, around 55 per cent of IndiGo's domestic flights were delayed as a significant number of its cabin crew members took sick leave, with sources saying they ostensibly went for an Air India recruitment drive.

IndiGo had slashed the salaries of a large section of its employees when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak.

S C Gupta, IndiGo's Senior Vice President (Engineering) sent an email to aircraft maintenance technicians Monday, stating that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the aviation industry as a whole including IndiGo has been through an unprecedented challenging period over the last 30 months.

PTI has accessed the email sent by Gupta.

The technicians' commitment towards the airline has remained steadfastly consistent through this rather difficult period, he mentioned.

"I am apprised of a few of your concerns about salary increases and I understand that during the last two years we have not been able to revise your compensation in accordance with historical levels," he noted.

"I have reviewed this with our Leadership and our HR Group and I am pleased to share that we have agreement on rationalising the anomalies caused by the pandemic. The letters reflecting this rationalisation will be issued to you over the next two weeks and will be with effect from August 1, 2022," he mentioned.

He said he is confident the technicians will continue working with the same zeal and accountability as always.

New airline Akasa Air, revamped Jet Airways and Tata group-owned Air India have started hiring processes and this has created a churn in the aviation industry, with many employees looking at greener pastures.