Restructuring: PIA employees seek meeting with defence minister

Say they want to speak to him before finalising their business plan recommendations for cabinet committee.

LAHORE: A group of Pakistan International Airlines’ employees has requested a meeting with the defence minister and the PIA chairperson before finalising its recommendations on the airline’s business plan for a cabinet committee.

The announcement was made in a statement issued on Thursday by the Joint Action Committee of PIA Employees (JACPIAE).

Suhail Baluch, president of the Pakistan Airline Pilots’ Association and convenor of JACPIAE, said in a letter to Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar that employees have a few positive recommendations for the government’s consideration. “Before finalising its recommendations, the committee organised brainstorming sessions with aviation experts and former PIA bosses who had managed to turn the company around during the worst circumstances.”

Baluch said that the committee has tried to advise the management to take corrective measures but certain groups within the management are leading the airline to the verge of collapse. “The airline’s employees, whose future is dependent on the airline’s performance, intend to save the company before it becomes another Pakistan Railways with not even enough cash to pay employees on time.”