After a meeting on Saturday, top officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry and the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), which runs Air India, decided to "take serious view" if the employees went ahead with their threat, official sources said.
They said the March 18 strike, called by the Joint Action Committee comprising eight unions including those of the pilots, was "illegal in view of matter being under conciliation with the Labour Commissioner".
Annoyed over "non-implementation" of assurances on their demands, all the major unions of Air India decided to strike for a day, saying the sale of the state-owned company was "imminent" in the present scenario.
In a notice to the national carrier's CMD V Thulasidas, eight unions representing almost the entire range of employees said they would go on work-to-rule and hold gate meetings and walkout as a build-up to the strike.
