Air India staff working at the old airport complex in Santa Cruz have taken exception to their movements being restricted in the airport premises due to the security precautions following the Afghan crisis.
From last Friday, the 8,000 employees working in the old airport were expected to be inside the premises at the time of reporting and leave only after duty hours. Previously, employees could enter and leave whenever they wanted. Security has been relaxed a little following a protest by the Air-India Employees Guild on Monday.
According to security personnel, due to constant movement of staff in the premises, it has become difficult to keep a watch on visitors. About 400 outsiders visit the premises daily.
The old airport houses important complexes, like the engineering complex which comprises of hangars and other aircraft infrastructure, the operations division where pilots are trained, and the department of information and technology from where the international network of A-I s operations are monitored. The staff work in three shifts from 6 am to 2 pm, 2 pm to 10 pm and 9 am to 5 pm.
"Apart from checking the staff during shift hours, they have to be checked throughout the day as they leave their workplace and move outside the premises. Many a times the staff fail to carry their identity cards and insist on being let in on a visitor s pass," said a security official. There are around 250 security personnel in the premises.
Guild general secretary George Abraham said that the management had imposed the restrictions on staff movement without intimating them. "The staff leaves the premises for refreshments, some even go home for lunch. They have been doing it for long. And it has not hampered security," he said.
Air-India spokesperson Jitendra Bhargava said that all staff are expected to undergo the security check. "The staff is expected to be in the office during working hours. They may be going home for lunch, but they can t leave the premises during office hours," he said.
He said in order to discourage staff from leaving office before duty hours, about 80 per cent of the staff now punch cards. "So their time of leaving the workplace gets recorded," said Bhargava.
