NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The government on Wednesday crushed the two-day-old strike by Air India unions that was launched 72 hours after the horrific crash at Mangalore and affected about 30,000 passengers.
The union leaders, who were protesting against a gag order, withdrew the strike in the face of a tough management and a Delhi high court order that termed the action illegal and directed the 14,000-odd workers to resume duties immediately.
The AI management, meanwhile, has launched a massive crackdown on the powerful unions. It had by 9pm either dismissed or suspended about 50 union leaders and sources said more action could follow through the night.
The move came even as civil aviation minister Praful Patel said that the unions had gone a bit too far and that the AI management had a free hand in dealing with the issue. By Thursday afternoon, the airline had issued a statement saying that it had never issued a gag order based on which the employees had gone on strike.
AI said the recent order merely reiterated it's July 2009 communication, which had said "...all concerned employees are advised to desist from going public with their statements that have the potential of harming the company's revenue earning possibility" or they would face disciplinary action.
