Ban On Use Of Social Media "Illegal": Air India Pilots Write To Chairman

The pilot union said that the introduction of a policy is entirely unheard of and infringes upon various rights of its employees.

Air India-Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) on Thursday wrote to the Air India chairman, stating that the prohibition on the use of social media and policy introduced by the airline in this regard is illegal and violates a fundamental right. "At the outset, we note with alarm that such a Policy introduced by Air India is entirely illegal and with no basis in law whatsoever. By way of the Policy, Air India has effectively imposed a blanket ban or prohibition on the use of social or digital media by all its employees, including those that have superannuated," it said in a letter to the airline's Chairman and MD (CMD) Rajiv Bansal. They said that they have examined the Policy introduced by Air India and it appears that the Policy bars all employees of Air India, both serving and retired employees, from posting any content on social media, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and other such forums. "At present, there is no law in India that either empowers or even remotely justifies such an act by an employer, especially Air India, being a State instrumentality under Article 12 of the Constitution, to impose such a blanket ban on the use of social or digital media by its employees. The same, it is reiterated, is without any basis or lawful sanction," the letter reads.