MUMBAI- The All India Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Union (AIAMEU) has formally notified AI Engineering Services Limited (AIESL) of their decision to initiate a strike effective May 5, 2025.
The strike involves AIESL’s Fixed-Term Employment (FTE) staff demanding permanent employment status, better pay, and benefits equal to those of permanent employees at the aircraft maintenance company.
Photo: AIESLAIESL FTE Staff Strike Notice
The AIAMEU, which represents union members working at various AIESL operational stations across India, submitted a formal notice detailing their grievances and demands.
According to the union’s communication received by Aviation A2Z, AIESL employs a significant number of highly trained, skilled technicians who perform crucial maintenance tasks to ensure fleet safety, yet these professionals are engaged as FTEs under contractual agreements without the security and benefits afforded to permanent employees.
The union claims this arrangement has created uncertainty and morale challenges among the workforce, adversely impacting overall efficiency and employee satisfaction.
They further allege that AIESL management has “eroded the ethics and business” of the company by “exploiting” FTE aircraft technicians who serve as “the backbone of the aviation MRO industry.”
Photo: AIESLKey Issues Raised by the Union
The notice highlights several specific grievances that have prompted the strike action:
- Degraded Promotion Policy: The union alleges management secretly changed promotion timelines, requiring Senior Aircraft Technicians to wait three years instead of two for promotion to Master Technician positions. This change was reportedly kept hidden from September 2023 until January 2025.
- Inequitable Compensation: AIAMEU claims FTE staff receive significantly lower pay and allowances compared to permanent employees despite having similar qualifications, skills, and efficiency levels.
- Resignation Handling: The union alleges that when FTE members attempt to resign, management has responded with threatening letters and refused to issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs), effectively trapping employees.
- Employee Attrition: The notice states that low pay has resulted in high resignation rates among union members, which “makes the company’s stability vulnerable.”
Photo: AI engineering Services Limited (AIESL)Union Demands and Legal Basis
The union has presented three primary demands:
- Regularization of employment for all qualified FTE union members
- Extension of the same rights, benefits, and protections that permanent employees enjoy
- Recognition of service with promotion opportunities for technicians who have served under contractual terms
To support their case, the union cites several landmark judgments from the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts that affirm the principle of regularizing long-term fixed-term employees, including recent 2024 cases involving Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. and Vinod Kumar vs. Union of India.
The notice concludes with a declaration that AIESL has failed to fulfill previous promises, voiding a letter issued by the company on April 12, 2024, and affirming that union members will proceed with the planned strike.
If anyone is interested in joining the Telegram channel for the AIAMEU union can do it and its for all working in the AME field in India can join it here: Telegram: Join Group Chat
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