TLI Staff
New Delhi: Stepping up their agitation to stop government from going on privatization overdrive, employees of Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Thursday continued their hunger strike under the banner of Joint Forum of Unions and Associations of the state-controlled airport agency.
The unions have questioned the reasoning behind handing out AAI airports to private companies when they are profit-making and complying with international service standards. Moreover, the airport operator has been paying dividends on its earnings to the government.
The unions pre-empt the Modi government to privatize more airports in coming months and have therefore intensified their agitation. The union has got the support of Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), a leading trade union with members all across the country.
“BMS believes (that) further privatization of airports may lead to declare AAI as a sick PSU,” BMS General Secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said in a press statement.
The Modi government has, however, been relentless in handing out public assets to private hands. Given the brute majority it has at the Centre and many key states being ruled by the BJP, the protest against its decision is hardly heard. Most unions have also lost their fire power. Even as multiple trains are being given to private companies for operations, the railway unions have been largely silent.
Emboldened by the absence of dissent voice, the Modi government has set higher disinvestment targets. In FY20, it aims to get over Rs 1 lakh crore by selling PSUs.
In spite of protest by AAI unions, the central government has gone ahead with privatization. It has already cleared the proposal for leasing out of three airports — Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru to Adani Enterprises Ltd based on the highest bid. The three airports would be given to the Gujarat-based company for 50 years as per the terms and conditions of the bid documents.
“These projects will bring efficiency in delivery, expertise, enterprise and professionalism apart from harnessing the needed investments in the public sector. This will also result in enhanced revenues to the AAI, which may lead to further investment by AAI at Tier II and Tier III cities and economic development in these areas in terms of job creation and related infrastructure,” the government has stated.
Adani has won bid for three more airports which would also be handed out in due course.
The AAI staff unions fear that the government may identify more airports for privatization in coming months. As many of the employees have worked for years and seen several airports getting upgraded with their hard work they do not want these airports to go away especially when profits are being earned.
“The employees are protesting against privatization of their airports, which they have built with hard work. In the meantime, Government of India/AAI has further decided to privatize another 6 more profit-making airport viz Varanasi, Raipur, Indore, Bhubaneswar, Amritsar and Trichi airports,” the BMS said in its statement.
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