Mumbai, Mar 12: Air India has directed its 1,600 air hostesses and stewards over the age of 40 to appear for a medical fitness examination before March 31 or face being grounded.
Those below 40 years of age have to undergo the examination before their next birthday, says a media report.
Senior crew members, many of whom are overweight and suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure, are angry.
Refusing to comply with the order, dated February 28, senior staff have through their union shot a letter to the airlines chairman and managing director, Rohit Nandan.
They have pointed to a 1999 agreement between the airline and the union, under which the airline is supposed to provide health club facilities to its empolyees.
Air India had tied up with Talwalkars, but the deal fell through in 1999 as the management said that at Rs 60,000 a year per employee it was too expensive, a cabin crew member said.
Without giving us gym facilities, the management should not force these tests on crew members, a senior purser said.
Across Air India (domestic and international ) and Air India Express,the airline employs about 5,000 cabin crew members.
AshwinUllalkar, president of All India Cabin Crew Association, said introducing the medical examination amounted to changing service conditions, something that the management was not unilaterally empowered to do.
