MUMBAI, July 25: Air-India's airhostesses who recently quit the airline's cabin crew association affiliated to the Shiv Sena to join a rival union has accused the management of denying them opportunities to fly AI's more popular routes. In a complaint to be filed before the labour commissioner, the members of the breakaway group who form the Air-India Hostesses Association, allege that the airline's inflight department is not accepting their bids to operate flights of their choice.

AI follows a policy whereby flights operated by it are open to bidding by members of its cabin crew taking into account their flight and duty time limitations. ``This permits crew members to opt for flights according to their convenience,'' says R Ramanathan, vice-president of the Air-India Hostesses Association. However, he alleged, that bids made by his members were routinely rejected by the inflight department. The airline however insists that it is trying to remedy the situation following complaints from affected staffers. ``Since the last one week, we have appointed an officer in the inflight department to ensure that the requirements of the non-recognised union members are taken care of,'' Jitendra Bhargava, spokesman of the airline told Express Newsline. The Air-India Hostesses Association however insists that office bearers of the original union often put pressure on management nominees to foil their rivals' bids.

The Air India Cabin Crew Association, the officially recognised union, headed by Shiv Sena's Education Minister Sudhir Joshi suffered a major split recently when nearly half of its members resigned from the union to protest against a wage agreement signed with the management.

While the airhostesses have joined the Air-India Hostesses Association, the male members of the airline's cabin crew are awaiting changes in the union's constitution so that they are formally admitted into it.

These employees have now written to the management to stop deducting their membership contributions to the AICCA from their monthly salaries.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.