No PIA employee to be laid off during privatisation, Dar tells PM

Conversion of PIA into privately-held company will insulate it from bureaucratic control, finance minister said

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday no employee of national carrier of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be laid off during privatisation.

"As per directions of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, no employee of PIA will be laid off," Dar assured after a meeting with the premier



During the meeting, Dar informed PM Nawaz that the new PIA company law partnership will offer job protection to all employees of the national flag carrier and will insulate the Airlines from bureaucratic control, allowing it to function as an autonomous corporation like Oil and Gas Development Corporation Limited (OGDCL).

With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deadline fast approaching, the government promulgated a presidential ordinance – instead of introducing a bill in parliament – to repeal the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Act of 1956 and remove a legal hindrance to the privatisation of the national flag carrier.

Under a condition of the $6.2 billion IMF loan programme, Pakistan is bound to invite investors to participate in PIA’s privatisation through media advertisements before the end of this month and to sell off the carrier by June next year.



Further, the finance minister also told PM Nawaz that the government is focused towards the rehabilitation of Temporary Displaced Persons (TDPs) who have lost their homes since the successful launch of operation Zarb-e-Azb.

The premier directed that all resources be made available for prompt and honourable rehabilitation of TDPs.

"Out of the Rs40 billion revenue proposed to be generated through regulatory duty on luxury items, Rs27 billion will be allocated to provinces," Dar told PM Nawaz.