Retired Air India staff would get medical benefits post disinvestment and providing these through CGHS (Central Government Health Scheme) would be explored.
Home Minister Amit Shah-led ministerial panel for disinvestment of Air India has said that alternatives for provision of medical benefits through CGHS would be explored.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has written to airline CMD Rajiv Bansal for submitting a proposal which may be taken up with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for providing medical facility to permanent employees through CGHS.
MoCA has specified the retired and retiring Air India employees who would be eligible for the benefit after the airline is sold.
“Medical benefits to be made available to retired and retiring AI (Air India) beneficiaries by the government. Alternatives for provision of these benefits through CGHS would be explored. AISAM advised that provision of medical facilities through CGHS in other similar cases of disinvestment should be considered.
“The SPA (sale purchase agreement) should clearly indicate that this liability will not be borne by the company post divestment,” MoCA has written to Bansal.
Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism or AISAM is the ministerial panel headed by Amit Shah to steer the sale of public sector airline. Other than Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal are part of the high-level panel.
As per the MoCA letter which has been reviewed by UNI, existing retired employees and their spouses could get CGHS benefits subject to approval by the Ministry of Health.
The proposal to the health ministry for CGHS coverage would include all existing employees who would attain the superannuation age of 58 years on the date of closing the transaction and retire from the privatised Air India, AIESL (Air India Engineering Services Limited) or AIASL (Air India Air Transport Services Ltd).
Those employees who would attain 55 years or above or would complete 20 years of continuous services on the date of closing of transaction and retire from the privatised Air India, AIESL and AIASL would also be included.
In its proposal, Air India has been directed to give estimated expenditure on account of CGHS medical facility.
