Biometric attendance actual target of airport workers’ stir
Times of India | 19 December 2025
Kolkata: The demand for a fresh uniform, which led to a demonstration before the airport manager's office two days ago, was an excuse to suspend a newly introduced biometric attendance system. This system ensured housekeeping staff did not leave before their shift ended.
The cleaning staff at the departure level of Kolkata airport refused to work for 40 minutes on Tuesday morning when one of them, who was not wearing the uniform, was asked to leave. The protest by 30 staff members forced the airport management to hold a meeting where the staff not only demanded a new set of uniforms, including winterwear, but also placed fresh demands, such as wage payment on a holiday and 14 days' leave with pay if there was a death in a staffer's family.
"Till these demands are met, no contractual staff will give the biometric attendance at the end of the shift,' a union leader told the agency.
While the agency agreed to provide fresh uniforms, including sweaters, to all 250 contractual staff by Dec 31, 2025, so that Kolkata airport authorities could implement the ‘no uniform-no entry' rule from Jan 1, 2026, it rejected the other demands.
Officials of the facility management firm engaged at the departure level said the outlandish demands were meant to derail the biometric attendance system that they introduced just a fortnight earlier on Dec 1 after months of negotiation with the unions and staff.
"Till Nov, the attendance was based only on the entry time. This led to many staff habitually leaving 25-30 minutes before the shift ended. That left washrooms and floors unattended for 40 minutes or more. To stop this practice, we introduced a pay system based on the exit time. They were told that the punch would get registered only after the shift ended. Also, workers were required to enter within 15 minutes of the start of the shift. These impossible-to-implement demands have been placed to end the new rule on attendance," he said.
While AAI floats tenders to appoint new facility management firms, the contractual employees remain the same, with the firm unable to either dismiss a lousy worker or take any other punitive measure. "Out of the 250 contractual housekeeping staff responsible for keeping the floors and toilets clean at Kolkata airport, only 100 take pride in their job and work honestly. Without these conscientious workers, the departure lounge and toilets would turn extremely shabby in a day," the official said.
Barun Natta, working president of Trinamool-backed Airport Contractual Workmen's Union, rejected the allegations. He said they launched the protest against the agency's bid to forcibly mark one of the housekeeping staff absent after he came to work wearing a jacket over his uniform.