Rabbani, rights activists reject plane crash inquiry commission

Say it is marred by 'conflict of interest,' call for inclusion of PALPA members in commission

KARACHI: Former Senate chairperson and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Mian Raza Rabbani, in a joint statement issued with Pakistan Institute of Labour, Education and Research executive director Karamat Ali and other rights activists part of the trade union movement in Pakistan on Tuesday, voiced opposition to the inquiry commission formed by the federal government to probe into the plane crash in Model Colony.

Calling for the inclusion of Pakistan International Airline trade unions' input in the inquiry, the senator and rights activists maintained in the statement that the history of inquiry commissions formed to probe plane crashes in Pakistan was "quite sordid."

"Reports have been doctored, tampered and [some], not even released," the statement reads, adding that such moves were made to "protect the vested interests of the [PIA] management.

They have alleged that inquiry commission is marred by "conflict of interest," reasoning that it includes Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officers who will investigate their peers, the inquiring officers are ranked lower than the officer heading the organisation that is being investigated, the commission comprises only PAF officers and no person experienced in commercial flying, including a rated pilot who has experience of flying an airbus, and that while the commission will scrutinise the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and air traffic control, it includes the representatives of the CAA.

Rabbani and others have also demanded to consider management, procedural and job security issues during the investigation, as well as the relationship between the management and unions to ascertain whether PIA's employees have been operating under stress.

"Since the appointment of a serving officer as the chief executive officer of PIA, there has been a total clamp down [on the airline's employees] and the final nail in the coffin was the enforcement of the Pakistan Essential Services Act, 1952, as a consequence of which all trade unions were banned and all agreements between the management and employees were rendered void," they have claimed in the statement. "As a result, PIA employees face uncertainty regarding job security and career planning."

Stating that the imposition of the Pakistan Essential Services Act, 1952 ultra vires the Constitution and violates the fundamental rights granted under the Constitution, the statement censures PIA's top management for "enjoying perks while cabin crew and other staff are denied allowances."

The senator and rights activists have urged the Centre to reconstitute the inquiry commission, ensuring that it has the representation of the Pakistan Airline Pilots' Association. Besides, they have demanded the restoration of trade unions and liberating PIA from the bounds of the essential services law. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2020.