Alliance Air staff to get priority in AI recruitments

New Delhi: With employees of Alliance Air demanding absorption in their airline’s parent company Air India, a parliamentary committee on Wednesday asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to give them priority in any recruitment by the state-owned national carrier.
Noting that AI’s wholly-owned subsidiary Alliance Air (AA) had 721 employees, all on contract, the Committee on Petitions criticised the Civil Aviation Ministry for not framing any recruitment policy to manage the affairs of AA.
In its 49th report tabled in Parliament today, it said the engagement of employees on contract or deputation was “purely an ad hoc arrangement” and should not be resorted to in jobs of permanent or perennial nature.
“This situation should not continue indefinitely,” it said, adding that the request of AA’s contract workers for regular absorption “cannot be rejected merely on the ground that they are contract workers.”
Recommending that the Ministry frame a long-term policy in this regard, the Committee said it desired that “for any recruitment in the interim period, the employees working on contract/casual may be given priority.”
25/02/09 PTI/Economic Times