INDIAN FLIGHT ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION Vs. AIR INDIA LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A full wing or a half wing on the uniform of Flight Engineers of Air India is the moot question in this writ petition filed at the instance of the Indian Flight Engineers Association. The demand of provision of full wing by the Flight Engineers on their uniform instead of half wing which is provided presently is based on the international practice in air lines over the world. The National Industrial Tribunal at Bombay on reference of the industrial dispute for adjudication by the appropriate Government under section 10 (1) (d) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 has held the demand unjustified giving rise to the present writ petition.

(2.) AIR India Ltd. , the respondent No. 1 is the Indian international airline and is a company now registered under the Companies Act, 1956. Till recently it was a Corporation under Air Corporations Act but the Air Corporation Act has been repealed. The Indian Flight Engineers Association - the petitioner - is a trade union of flight engineers. The flight engineers employed by Air India are members of the petitioner union. Inter alia, the demands raised by the petitioner union were for a second flight engineer on long haul flights exceeding 9 hours that are operated with an additional commander and for provision of full wing on the uniform instead of half wing presently provided. The demand for second flight engineer on long haul operations exceeding 9 with an additional commander has been met by entering into a settlement and, therefore, the grievance of the petitioner on that count no longer survives. As regards the demand for provision of full wing on the uniform of flight engineers instead of half wing presently provided - the only question involved now in the writ petition - is based on the ground that provision of full wing on the uniform of the flight engineers is a standing international practice in the air lines all over the world. The demand is resisted by Air India on the ground that it had to keep the difference between the pilot and flight engineers and hence the uniform of flight engineers are provided with half wing. In the reference proceedings before the Tribunal, the petitioner union examined various witnesses namely, M/s. S. Krishnamoorthy, R. S. Tiwari, K. R. Pankajan, T. M. Chandran, P. N. Phadnis and Mr. T. M. Chandran and also produced questionnaires and replies to the questionnaires given by Flight Engineers Associations all over the world and copies of the letters received from Great Britain, Holland, South Africa, Portugal, etc. Air India in its defence examined Captain K. Mohan and Mr. V. A. Ferreira. The Tribunal after hearing the parties on 27-7-1994 passed the impugned award and held that giving the Flight Engineers 3/4 wing would be appropriate and justified.

(3.) ASSAILING the award of the Tribunal on this aspect, Mr. Sanjay Sanghvi, the learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner union urged that the petitioner union led sufficient evidence to establish the industrywise practice around the world about the provision of full wing on the uniform of flight engineers and the industrywise practice having been established, the Tribunal was not justified in rejecting the demand of the petitioner union for full wing on the uniform of Flight Engineers. He would urge that even if in single air line there is a practice of providing full wing on the uniform to the flight engineers, the industry practice ought to be held as established and in the present case, from the available evidence it was apparently clear that number of air lines around the globe have been providing full wing to the flight engineers as is provided to the pilots. To illustrate he cited the position prevailing in Singapore Airline, Hangerian Airline, KLM and some other airlines. He, therefore, submitted that the award passed by the Tribunal needs to be modified relating to this demand.