LAHORE - The PIA management has issued show cause notices to its more than 167 employees out of whom many are on leave during protests against privatisation, well-placed sources in the airline said yesterday.
Management was also issuing notices to some retired PIA officers, said a member of Joint Action Committee of PIA Employees (JACPIAE) and added that all it was being done on the behest of Director Flight Operations (DFO) Naveed Aziz and Director Engineering.
“Airline management has also issued notices to our colleagues who were even on leave during recent protests against privatisation,” said an engineer requesting anonymity.
He said that panic had gripped airlines employees after they were served with notices without any solid reason.
In the second phase, the management has issued notices to 17 engineers of PIA who are members of Society of Aircraft Engineers Pakistan (SEAP). An engineer said that notices were also issued to the officers who were on leave at the time of protest.
A meeting of JACPIAE was also convened in Karachi to chalk out the future plan regarding fate of the employees who were issued notices. A JACPIAE member on condition of not to be named said that after meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan they will wait for their response as per commitment after that they will chalk out future strategy.
He believed that airline management was victimising innocent employees of the airline but notices were not issued to president PALPA Amir Hashmi who was an active participant of the protest.
He blamed former special assistant to prime minister on aviation Shujaat Azeem, DFO PIA and director engineering for the harassment of employees.
When contacted spokesman of the airline said, “Yes notices have been issued to the employees who provoked the employees on protest and caused losses to airline”. He said that no innocent employee would be issued show cause notice.