In July, the govt approved Rs7 billion bailout package for PIA, to prevent the airline from defaulting. PHOTO: FILE
In a statement on Friday, the Joint Action Committee of Pakistan International Airlines Employees, which claims to represent all the unions including the CBA, alleged that vested interests were after PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York instead of fixing it.
“The Joint Action Committee will ask the Supreme Court to take notice of the conspiracy and intervene to end ‘ad hocism’ further strengthened by creating the aviation division,” the statement said.
The reaction comes following reports that the PIA management has proposed selling 25-30% stake in the airline to investors along with management control.
For this to happen, the management has asked the government to inject Rs16 billion into the ailing carrier, which carries accumulated losses of over Rs120 billion.
The committee called the plan half-baked and flawed, saying no details have been shared with the employees. The unions also criticised the creation of the new aviation division.
It said there was no clear-cut policy as the privatisation proposal surfaced weeks before planned appointment of a new management, which should have the chance to put things right.
Blaming past top managements for the current state of the airline, the committee even called for handing over the day-to-day affairs to the employees.
More than once the statement mentioned the unions’ protests in 2011 which followed a proposed PIA code-share agreement with Turkish Airlines and led to dismissal of then managing director Aijaz Haroon.
Those were the days when major airports across the country were occupied by PIA employees and hundreds of flights were suspended.
During the protests to force out Haroon, the unions
had promised to revive the airline in six months. But that never happened.
Pakistan Airline Pilots’ Association (Palpa), which was at the forefront of this protest drive, was able to get a better working agreement and other employees also received salary raise.
The PIA spokesperson was not available for comment.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (22)
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@A Pakistani: What about Pak Army. I think it is established that they are the worst performers in all sense. Should we also sell them to private firms ?
How is this govt serious about turning around PIA? It has appointed Shujat Azim as the all-powerful advisor who is calling the shots in PIA. This guy was a Flt Lt in PAF and was thrown out of PAF on disciplinary grounds. He than became a personal pilot of the brother of Lebanese PM. When Nawaz Sharif ran away to Saudi Arabia, he was piloting his plane. With Nawaz Sharif's blessings he also owns a company named Royal Airport Services which provides ground handling to PIA at various domestic airports. This company is a defaulter of PIA and owes millions to PIA but no one in PIA can dare to recover a penny. Now this guy who has no credentials to turn around a major airline is expected to deliver. Who are you fooling Mr Sharif? Now the plans are afoot to sell for pennies to the likes of Mian Mansha as has already been done in the case of MCB. This time on the pretext of saving national exchequer money, PIA is up for grabs at the cost of the nation!
A loss making Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) should never be allowed to dole out FREE perks & previleges to its overstaffed incompetent free riders. The PMLN Government must immediately withdraw the FREE TRAVEL facility to PIA employees and other government officials.
Former PM (now disqualified), Yousaf Raza Gillani had inducted over 600 PPP workers in PIA during his stint as Speaker National Asembly 1993-96. As a punishment, Mr Gillani was jailed and spent good time behind the bars. On his release and becoming Prime Minister in 2008, Mr Gillani claimed that "if giving jobs to the people is a crime then we will continue to commit this crime every time we are in power". . The question is why the PPP always doles out jobs at the expense of the taxpayers? Why they did not employ these people in their own business empires? Why this money cannot be recovered from those who misused it?? Every single Ruppee wrongly spent for political mileage should be recovered from their personal pockets to save Pakistan from economic collapse and to close this back door forever!!
PIA has not been runned by union. Chairman n MD are qualified posts just look who they r. Any other organization in world spent 19% on thier employees whereas pia spent only 9%. I think its just bcoz of employees loyalty n hard work dat Pia still survives otherwise.. go for Da facts flts r packed still pia is incarring loses where goes all the money? No one ask dis question , does it went to employees pockets answer is big nooo. There r so many outsiders who had their interest frm Pia n they simply dnt let it grow. One shd ask Pia higher managment abt the strategies they made to improve the airline. Do they hav any ????
@Arsalan: This is in reply to mr Arsalan That 700 billion dollars was given as a loan to these companies in a crisis situation . Most of this loan , almost 585 billion dollars have been paid back to federal reserve as of now if I remember correctly. Recently GM co paid back all the loan in June 2013. When was the last time PIA paid back loan to Govt of Pakistan. How much money has been given to PIA so far over the the last fifteen yrs? Or twenty yrs? When did they show profit? Govt is just throwing goods net after the bad money. Would you keep on giving money to your son who is married and sixty yrs old and you know he is wasting your money? Do you know how much money you have to give again by June 2014 to keep this company afloat? Thanks for reading my comment.
Unions will always resist any attempt to down-size. But is over-manning PIA's only problem? I suspect it is a small part of what ails this once-glorious airline.
@SHB: What about the 700 Billion USD public money bailout to American businesses after 2008 Economic meltdown. It was the largest bailout in the history of this world where public money was dolled out in straight cash to private businesses. Lot other more public money injections were given to private US multinationals. UK and other european countries also doled out Billions of pounds and euros of public cash in private bail outs. All multinationals benefited from the public money. Private efficiency is a myth. We should learn from the mistakes of others and device a workable solution. Privitising PIA will have worse consequences. In UK, British rail was privitised several year ago and the public is facing the worst consequences. No investments, rotten infrastructure, sky rocketing prices 1.
In a country like Pakistan, state assets should be preserved as much as we can and try to make it better. Only then we can protect jobs, families and also infrastructure and costs. Ofcourse we have to combat corruption, nepotism and inefficiencies and I believe that majority of workers in PIA want this and they can run PIA better democratically than anybody else.
@Arsalan: Not sure if serious or retarded.
@Arsalan: Look at USA private companies like Apple , Microsoft. Or airlines in USA. Most of USA airlines have gone thru Bankrupticies and have come out stronger financially Are these companies under union control or private sector control ? Govt must not be in the business of running airline or steel mills and then adding taxpayer's money every yr to cover the deficit. Any business has to survive on its own. It is just like how long you will support your child? Would you support him after his marriage and even after he had his own children ? If you did that then getting him married was the wrong decision.
So how long tax payers' will continue to cover the deficit of PIA? June 2014 is not that far for another bail out amount of seven to ten billion rupees.
@Arsalan:
You are right mate. Corruption of unions for the whole year may be far far less than the corruption what a minister and their hired management do in a single day. Problem is that union leaders capitulate to management and betray their fellow workers - hence becoming part of corruption. I think unions need genuine leadership who can stand against management and government and stop them from privitizing and also stopping them from corruption.
I don't know whether unions can run the PIA efficiently, but may be they can run much better than the current management.
@Arsalan: sorry sir but we all know you are joking
I think Unions are doing great job. Best solution is to sack all directors, MD and all useless honorary positions and give PIA under Union control and see how will it perform.
All corruption is being done by top management and ministers to the tune of billions of rupees. Unions are the one which are faithful to the organisation and they really want PIA to function well. PIA is a question of their family survival. Workers in Union know where the real problem lies and how to rectify those unlike heavy paid consultants and heavy salaried MD, directors etc.
Privitising PIA would be a great disaster, with no job creation, high fares, low quality, cost saving measures would end up in more accidents and ultimately business catastrophe. This would help private airlines to mint sky high profits from customers.
Again I would say, GIVE PIA UNDER DEMOCRATIC CONTROL OF THE UNIONS.
Deep infiltration of local political party n most PIA union leaders appointed from/within the members of their community (day light robbery) needs to stop here. Privatization of PIA is the only solution, present PIA unions to be dissolved or banned/call for news union elections (excluding tugs, gangsters, political workers etc) NO Board to be placed at entrance of PIA airport.
Good they are protesting, would make it easier to make list of employees not willing to work thus made redundant.
They are not unions only they are political forces being instigated to fail every move government is making to improve the situation. Typical oppositional behavior of Pakistani Politics where every move of the government has to be opposed and argued.
I agree with comment of Mr Anver. I would also suggest followings. Confiscate the assets of these union leaders.
Having non-private (government owned) businesses (PIA, etc etc) act as an employment agency for the current ruling party's political members has to stop! With no consequences for bad performance, bad service, or bad management how can these albatrosses be anything but be severe drains on the people's tax dollars?
This is the cause of Pakistan's failure! Privatize everything but set a quality standard and enforce a strict tax collection system. See the difference between government owned banks and private banks?
Plz sacked all these union peoples, and put their leader in jail then PIA can survive.
Govt must not bow down to these unions, these over staffed useless people know they will either have to work hard or get fired. KESC's example is in front of their eyes where 4000 useless workers were removed.
Unions should be banned in govt own entities as they are main cause of wrongdoings leading failures of these institutions. Billions of rupees are spent for their bailout. Why should whole nation suffer for benefiting few individuals(political appointees)