Unrest in Air India Express: Union Condemns Charge-Sheet Issuance as Unfair

The Air India Express Employees Union has criticized the airline’s management for issuing charge-sheets to around 200 cabin crew members following a strike in May. The Union warns that such actions, which disregard previous conciliation agreements, could harm company-patron relations and amplify industrial discord.

The Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU) has condemned as 'unfortunate and unfair labour practice' the airline management’s decision to issue charge-sheets to approximately 200 cabin crew members. The charge-sheets were issued after the crew reported sick during a strike last month.

In a letter addressed to Air India Express chief Alok Singh, the Union stated that such measures could negatively impact the company and its customers. The Union stressed that the issue had been settled amicably with the management during a conciliation meeting on May 9.

Union President K K Vijayakumar urged the management to refrain from reopening settled issues and instead pursue cooperative opportunities to improve industrial relations. Despite the settlement, the subsequent cancellation of numerous flights was attributed to new software-related operational failures, not employee actions.