Industrial action by workers is set to continue at the Indian airline despite the sacking of 58 workers and derecognition of two major unions following a wildcat strike last week.
The Hindu reported that one day after Air India employees called off their wildcat strike, the management on Thursday continued their crackdown on workers, derecognising two major unions and sacking 41 employees.
The trouble for the distraught airline — which is trying to resurrect its image and brand after last week's crash in Mangalore — is far from over as union leaders have called for another strike from June 12.
Yet another round of confrontation between the unions and the management appears certain with the strike call issued by the Air Corporation Employees' Union (ACEU), consisting mainly of employees of the erstwhile Indian Airlines.
The call came within a day of the flash strike being broken by the management, which sacked 17 employees and suspended 15 others on Wednesday.
The management derecognised the ACEU and the All-India Aircraft Engineers' Association (AIAEA), which had spearheaded the strike. Offices of the unions across the country were sealed.
Air India also struggled to clear the backlog of passengers, though 25 flights in the domestic sector were cancelled during the day. But international flight services were operating normally, an official said.
The management came down heavily on union leaders and employees soon after they called off the strike following a Delhi High Court order and the Centre gave the management a free hand to end the strike.
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