News Agencies

New Delhi, Feb 4 [03.40pm, IST]: Airport workers have called off their strike despite the Left leaders threatening otherwise.

The strike was called off after Aviation Minister Praful Patel wrote a letter to Airport Unions saying that there would be no victimisation of Airport Authority of India (AAI) employees.

The letter also stated that all issues with the employees have been resolved.

Patel said that he hoped that normalcy would return to the airports in the next few hours.

On Saturday morning scuffle broke out between striking airport workers and the police at the Delhi airport when they were allegedly prevented from holding demonstrations even as consultations started between various unions to decide on the future course of the stir.

AAI employees claimed that the police initially allowed them to hold a meeting but later asked them to disperse, saying the gathering was too large.

However, the police maintained that they were only following High Court orders.AAI Workers' Unions were slated to meet in the Capital on Saturday to discuss the future course of action. This comes in the wake of repeated assurrances by the Prime Minister of job security and benefits.

The airport employees are protesting plans to privatise the Delhi and Mumbai airports.
GMR-Fraport consortium won the bid for mordernisation of Delhi airport, while GVK-South Africa combine has bagged the Mumbai airport project.

The two successful bidders had agreed to absorb a minimum of 60 per cent of employees working at the two airports.

The Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, however, has assured the state-run AAI will absorb the rest.

Not satisfied with the assurances, the striking workers have demanded a review of the privatisation decision, saying it violates a promise not to sell off money-making public companies.

They say the money to modernise the facilities could have come from public funds.

In a bid to find a solution to the nationwide strike by airport employees, the PM met their union leaders on Friday evening.

Praful Patel was also present at the meeting.

The PM had categorically stated that he will press ahead with plans to privatise two Indian airports.

While flights from the airports are reported to be operating without glitches, the passengers' plight has resulted in public criticism.

As the PM stands tall on his stand, the unions and Left parties appear to be having second thoughts about their prolonged agitation.