11 Air India pilots on indefinite hunger strike

Eleven striking pilots of Air India went on an indefinite hunger strike demanding the reinstatement of their 101 sacked colleagues.

[caption id="attachment_355266" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="The Pilots strike has entered its 48th day: Naresh Sharma/Firstpost"][/caption]

"Eleven pilots belonging to Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG) are sitting on an indefinite hunger strike from today (Sunday). Our protest (hunger strike) is only for the reinstatement of our sacked colleagues and for the reputation of our union. We want to bring the strike to an end as soon as possible," Rohit Kapahi, committee member of IPG, told IANS.

The Air India management earlier sacked 101 pilots belonging to the IPG. Around 440 pilots had struck work since 8 May against a management move to train pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines on the soon-to-be-inducted Boeing-787 Dreamliner.

The pilots' announcement on their "Anna-type" protest fast assumes significance as this will be one of the first instances in the country where highly paid professionals such as pilots are sitting on a hunger strike.

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Meanwhile the main pilots strike entered its 48th day on Sunday and has reportedly caused Indian Airlines a revenue loss of Rs.530 crores.

IANS