Employee unions at Air India on Wednesday decided to oppose privatization of the airline as there is still no clarity on various issues,including payment of salary arrears and pension, according to a union's representative.

The development comes at a time when the government isworking on the final contours for the proposed disinvestment of loss-making AirIndia.

At a meeting of representatives of various unions in Mumbai,it was also decided that a letter would be written to all the central tradeunions and International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) seeking theirsupport against privatization.

These unions represent pilots, cabin crew, engineers andground staff, among others. The meeting was attended by representatives fromIndian Pilots' Guild (IPG), Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA), AirCorporations Employees' Union (ACEU), Air India Aircraft Engineers Association(AIAEA), Air India Employees' Union (AIEU), All India Service Engineers'Association (AISEA), Aviation Industry Employees Guild (AIEG), officers'association and others.

According to the representative, the unions have decided tooppose privatisation and would explore all legal options. These unions would"draw out a plan of action to oppose the privatisation of Air India and toprotect the jobs, service conditions and welfare facilities of retired andserving employees of Air India", the representative added.

Majority of the national carrier's employees are representedby these unions. The airline has around 20,000 employees. On Tuesday, ICPAthreatened to go on strike unless their long-pending demands related tosalaries are addressed.