"India Airport Workers Threaten to Strike Over Privatization"

Friday, September 24, 2004

India Airport Workers Threaten to Strike
Thousands of Indian Airport Workers Threaten to Strike Over Privatization
Plan
The Associated Press


NEW DELHI - Thousands of airport workers across India have threatened to
stay away from work Monday to protest the government's plans to privatize
the country's two main airports in New Delhi and Bombay, the Civil Aviation
Ministry said Friday. 

Meanwhile, the New Delhi High Court ordered airport workers not to disrupt
flights across the country, Press Trust of India news agency said. 

The court ruling followed the Airports Authority of India's contention that
the workers couldn't strike, since the government had set up a committee to
consider their suggestions on modernizing the airports without privatizing
them.

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said he would meet representatives of
the Airports Authority Employees' Union on Saturday in Bombay and try to
persuade them to call off the strike.

"They are our people. They are very cooperative and I hope that they will
understand our views. We will also hear their views as far as possible,"
Patel told reporters in the eastern city of Calcutta.

The union says the Airports Authority has enough money and engineers to
modernize the airports without having to sell them.

Last year, nearly 5,000 airport workers held a series of one-day fasts
across the country to protest government plans to sell 74 percent stakes in
the government-run New Delhi and Bombay airports.

Despite a change in the national government in May, the airport
privatization plans remain in place, although no timeframe has been set.

The government has proposed that joint venture companies run the two
airports, which together handle about 63 percent of India's international
passenger traffic. New Delhi's international airport handles about 8 million
passengers a year while Bombay's deals with 11 million.

Under the government's privatization plan, private companies would run the
airports on 30-year leases and government stakes in the airports would be
capped at 26 percent.

The Airports Authority would remain responsible for security and air traffic
control.


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