Section of AIESL staff allege discrimination; to hold symbolic protest

New Delhi/ Mumbai, Apr 1 (PTI) A section of employees at the AI Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) on Tuesday alleged that the management’s recent arbitrary actions have violated the principles of ethical governance even as the company asserted that there is no discrimination.

The All India Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Union (AIAMEU), which represents around 1,100 staff on Fixed Term Employment (FTE), will start a symbolic protest by displaying a black ribbon for three days starting on April 2.

Among others, it has demanded an “end to arbitrary decision-making” and also fair and equal treatment for all employees, according to a letter addressed to the AIESL CEO.

The union also claimed that recent actions, such as a change of promotion policy and non-implementation of 2-3 years’ salary revision, have created an atmosphere of fear and dissatisfaction.

When contacted, AIESL CEO Sharad Agarwal told PTI that the company does not discriminate between employees.

“The company has a declared safety and quality policy and encourages open reporting. There is also a redressal mechanism in place for the employees,” he said.

Agarwal also stressed that there are no arbitrary decisions taken at AIESL and for all major decisions, employees are always taken on board.

There is already a bilateral agreement in place with the union and I don’t know why issues are being raked up again, he noted.

Meanwhile, the union also warned that failure to address its concerns promptly may “lead to further collective actions, including but not limited to escalated protests and formal legal recourse”.