New Delhi, June 29: Seventy per cent of Air India’s 31,000 employees will get their June salaries by July 3 after the threat of a strike forced the airline to drop a planned a 15-day delay in payment.

Today’s decision covered lower-level staff.

Officials said a meeting would be held after July 3 to decide when to pay the other employees.

The carrier is struggling with a loss of Rs 4,300 crore in 2008-09.

“The management has told us that we would get our salaries on July 3,” said J.B. Kadian, the general secretary of the Air Corp Employees’ Union, which had threatened a strike if there was a delay in payment of salaries.

The announcement followed talks between the unions and Air India chief Arvind Jadhav.

A move to cut salaries and allowances has been dropped, along with a proposal asking top managers to forego a month’s pay.