Senate panel asks PIA to revisit sacking decision

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ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Aviation has asked Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) management to review its decision with regard to sacking of employees of the national flag carrier.

In its recommendations sent to the PIA administration, the committee has said PIA should review its decision on humanitarian grounds. Those who have genuine degrees should be restored immediately.

The committee has inquired why the airline had decided to sack those employees and one whose instruction did it take this decision. The sacking decision was not taken on merit by PIA management.

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It says some employees after review were given ordinary punishment while others were given double punishment. “PIA administration has failed to clarify its position on the matter,” it says.

In an earlier meeting, the parliamentary body criticised the manner in which PIA management had dismissed seven pilots and 73 cabin crew for possessing fake degrees, saying rules were not followed for dismissal of services.

“Terminating the service of staff is a drastic action. Nowhere does the Supreme Court order dismiss staff with fake degrees. The court’s directives are to follow procedure under the rules,” the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation, Senator Mushahidullah Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had said.

He urged the PIA management to take disciplinary action against officials who inducted employees without verifying their documents first, before firing staff with fake degrees.

He argued that instead of terminating the service of staff possessing fake degrees, other disciplinary action should have been taken, such as demotion or stopping increments.

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The chairman had instructed the committee’s secretary to invite employees who had been removed from service and members of the PIA union to know their views on the matter.

However, in his response, PIA CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik, who took charge last October, had explained to the committee reasons for strict stance by the management.

“More cases of fake degrees have surfaced. And more cases have surfaced of pilots with fake licences who are flying today. I explained to the Supreme Court of the matter of life and death of passengers. If we did not take stern actions on merit, there will be no end to such inductions,” Malik had told the committee.