SC approached: Sexual harassment rampant in PIA, says pilot

Captain Riffat Hey accuses airline’s higher management of victimising female staff.

ISLAMABAD:

Appearing before the Supreme Court, a woman pilot of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has alleged that female staff of the national carrier were being sexually harassed and subsequently victimised by the higher management.

“Harassment and subsequent victimisation is rampant in PIA. I am not the only staff member who has faced such problems. I am alone in only speaking against the problem,” asserted Riffat Hey, a captain pilot.

The pilot appeared before a three-member bench of the apex, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, who were hearing a case about the plight of PIA and the dual charges held by the chairman of the airline.

Hey alleged she was being targeted after she complained about the attitude of two male pilots. I brought my problem into the notice of the higher management of PIA but no action was taken; instead the management started targeting me and hurdles were being created in my promotion, she claimed.

Chief Justice Chaudhry issued notices to the PIA managing director asking for a response to Hey’s plea and put off the hearing till March 14.

In a separate development, the court directed Attorney General of Pakistan Irfan Qadir to appear at the next date of hearing and explain the PIA chairman’s position as he has been holding the post of defence secretary as well.

The SC had taken suo motu notice of the plight of the national carrier, and in this connection Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Marvi Memon had also complained to the court about the decline in PIA.

On Thursday, Memon provided further information to the court that the federal government had approved a 50-billion-rupee bailout package for PIA for the next five years as it admitted that a Rs40 billion loss was incurred during the last Hajj season.

She said the PIA had grounded half of its fleet as 19 planes were grounded in one go. A special committee of the National Assembly had said that the main reason for the downfall of the organisation was mismanagement of the airline.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2013.