PHOTO: FILE
Representatives of the Pakistan Airline Pilots’ Association (Palpa), a union of more than 400 pilots, relented on the seventh day of its partial strike, which had resulted in dozens of flights of the national flag carrier being cancelled.
Two days ago Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had asked the PIA administration to look into only the “genuine demands” of the protesting pilots, following which the management came up with a contingency plan, which included seeking services of Pakistan Navy’s pilots and contract hiring of more pilots.
During the week-long standoff, around two dozen pilots called in sick at the eleventh hour, leading to delay and, in some cases, cancellation of over 70 flights.
The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat convened a meeting of the pilots’ association and officials of PIA and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to resolve the lingering tussle. During the two-hour meeting, both sides briefed the parliamentary panel of their points of view.
Senator Talha Mehmood, who heads the panel, later told the media that the pilots had agreed to call off their strike after they were assured that the Senate body would “monitor” their talks with the PIA management.
Palpa President Capt Amir Hashmi said all members of his association would resume their duties. However, the suspension of strike is conditional, as both sides would report to the Senate panel about the outcome of their negotiations by Friday.
Thousands of passengers suffered because of the tussle for a whole week, and the ailing national flag carrier suffered more losses during this time.
PIA and CAA managements questioned the timing of the strike and accused Palpa of “covertly pushing illegitimate demands” at a time when the crucial operation to bring back Hajj pilgrims was under way.
The managements said they would not budge in the face of any “unreasonable” demands, adding that representatives of the pilots must enter talks without any preconditions.
According to them, the protesting pilots want the director of flights operation replaced with the person of their own choice, withdrawal of show-cause notices and inquiries pending against some pilots, and reinstatement of all pilots whose licences were suspended, giving Palpa the say in deciding seniority of the pilots.
However, Palpa says they want implementation of their working agreement, timely release of their allowances and training opportunities for their members in line with international standards.
The fresh round of talks between the two sides is scheduled for Thursday (today). PIA officials said their contingency plan would remain intact in the meantime.
Under this plan, Pakistan Navy’s Fokker airplanes and staff would remain on standby in case PIA pilots call in sick at the last moment – believed to be a novel tactic that Palpa is using to jeopardise the airline’s operations.
To maintain its pressure, the PIA management wants to go with its plan to ascertain the medical condition of the 21 pilots who called in sick at the eleventh hour through a board of doctors.
The Senate standing committee would meet again on Friday (tomorrow) to review the progress of talks between Palpa and the PIA management.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2015.
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