‘Rightsizing’ PIA
The government has woken up to the need for rightsizing the workforce in PIA to restore its financial health and reclaim its sagging reputation. The government has decided, in principle, to lay off 3,861 regular and contractual employees through Voluntary Separation Scheme. This measure would reduce PIA’s annual losses by Rs4.2 billion. Those working on 644 positions filled through outsourcing will also be relieved. The government would recover the Rs12.9 billion cost of VSS in two and a half years. After the planned lay-offs, PIA would achieve the desired ratio of 250 employees per airliner (1:250) for its 30 aircraft. Internationally, this is deemed the optimum ratio. A workforce of 7,000 to 75,000 is considered sufficient for PIA.
Possibly, the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s warning to Pakistan over its inability to satisfy the Significant Safety Concerns prescribed by the former has hastened the government’s decision to administer the bitter pill. In a recent letter to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, the ICAO had expressed dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s licensing and training of pilots and had warned that the country’s aircraft and pilots could be barred from flying to 88 countries. The ICAO had given the PCAA 90 days to take remedial measures. The issue came to the fore when Ghulam Sarwar, the Aviation Minister, stated a few months ago that 262 Pakistani airlines pilots, including 141 working for PIA, possessed dubious credentials. PIA is already barred from flying to the UK and EU member countries.
The minister’s announcement brought the CAA under a cloud of doubt. Later, pilots’ credentials were subjected to thorough scrutiny and investigation. Inquiries established that licences of several pilots were fake, and these have been cancelled. The Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association too had said failure to take corrective steps would lead to a disastrous situation. PIA has long been in the red mainly due to being overstaffed. Some quarters might criticise the government’s decision as hasty. Sometimes haste becomes necessary.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 18th, 2020.
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