AAI staff’s 5-day relay strike over

Employees OF the Airports Authority of India (AAI) today called off their nationwide agitation to ensure job security following the decision...

Employees OF the Airports Authority of India (AAI) today called off their nationwide agitation to ensure job security following the decision to privatise two metro airports, after the Government set up a committee to look into the issues, union leaders said.

The AAI staffers were on a nationwide relay hunger strike for the past five days.

Allaying fears of job security, Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy assured representatives of the six recognised unions that the staffers’ jobs would be protected and continuance maintained.

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He said all issues discussed and finalised by the proposed committee would be sent to the empowered committee of the Union Cabinet which was set up earlier this month when the Cabinet approved the privatisation of the two metro airports.

Besides Rudy, the committee comprises Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie and Law Minister Arun Jaitley. The Minister said ‘‘suitable provisions’’ would be made in the AAI agreement and the selected private partners in the proposed joint venture companies to be set up for privatisation of the two airports to reflect the final decisions of the empowered Cabinet Committee.