Mumbai: Debt-ridden Air India, which has has not paid salaries to its employees for the month of July, has said it is making ‘all efforts’ to disburse them by the next week.
The salaries have been delayed due to the reasons beyond the airline’s control, it said in a communication to its staff. This is the fifth consecutive month that the national carrier has failed to pay salaries to its employees on time.
Generally, the airline disburses salaries by the 30th or the 31st of every month. There were delay in payments in March, April, May and June as well.
“We regret to inform the delay in payment of salaries for the month of July due to circumstances beyond the control of the management,” Air India general manager for human resources said in the notice to staff, adding,
“However, all efforts are being made to make the payments by next week.” Air India has more than 11,000 permanent staff.
The national carrier, which is facing acute financial crunch, is set to get an additional funding of Rs 980 crore from the government.
On 26 July, minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha told the Lok Sabha that there was a short delay in the payment of salaries for May and that the same was paid subsequently.
“Salaries have been paid to all employees, including the salary for the month of June, which was paid on 2 July,” the Minister had said. At the end of March 2017, the national carrier had a debt burden of more than Rs 48,000 crore.