New Delhi: Discontinuation of productivity- linked incentive (PLI) for Air India employees has received a mixed response from the unions with some of them saying they would seek legal opinion while others hoping that it will be compensated with hike in basic pay.
The decision to abolish PLI, taken a few months ago, would slash the staffers' pay packet ranging from 30 to 70 percent but majority of them are expected to be compensated as their basic pay and allowances would go up in accordance with other large public sector units, airline sources said.
The PSU pay-scales and allowances are determined by the guidelines of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE). The PLI is being replaced by Productivity Related Pay (PRP) which merges part of the PLI with the basic pay. The new system will be effective retrospectively from July one this year.
Those affected the most are pilots, cabin crew and engineers as PLI constituted a large chunk of their overall emoluments as per the industry standards globally.
But, since the pay package of these sections have to be determined as per the global industry norms and not by the DPE guidelines, the Civil Aviation Ministry would soon take up the matter with the Union Cabinet for its approval, the sources said.
The Dharmadhikari Committee had, among other things, recommended scrapping of PLI earlier this year, which was accepted by the airline and the Civil Aviation Ministry.
A union leader of the erstwhile Indian Airlines said, "we will take legal opinion on the issue. We would examine the legal implications of how in one company, two sets of emloyees get different salary structure."
However, a union leader of the pre-merger Air India welcomed the move and said in monetary terms, nearly 70 percent of employees would not be affected as their overall pay packet would remain the same under the DPE guideline.
"We won't be hit hard due to the PLI cut as it would be just five percent below our present salary which is likely to be compensated," he said.
PTI
