LAHORE - While PIA is already in technical insolvency, with debts, liabilities and losses exceeding its assets, and accumulated losses exceeding Rs146 billion, the world’s most surplus employee to aircraft ratio, airline employee unions have asked for salary hikes.
This is an airline that does not have sufficient funds to procure essential spare parts to keep its new fleet of Boeing 777 serviceable. The PIA chairman has surprisingly asked all unions such as PALPA, SAEP, FENA, SSA, ATAP and Employee Union to submit their charter of demands. On December 31, 2012 the prestigious UK-based Financial Times mentioned that PIA has the largest employee to aircraft ratio amongst all airlines of the world.
PIA has been reduced to an organization which, in spite of massive revenue pilferage, losses, reduction in frequency of flights and grounding of its fleet, has become hostage to its employees, who demand higher salaries and have made this state-owned corporation a burden on tax payers of Pakistan and national exchequer. Instead of reduction in employees, more than 3,500 more have been hired, in violation of merit during past 5 years.
The airline has not been purged of those employees who submitted fake degrees allegedly because of pressure of unions, political parties and important members of the ruling elite. The Ministry of Defense, under which PIA functions, is also party to criminal negligence. With the lowest aircraft and pilot utilization in the industry, PIA pays a guaranteed 70 hours flying allowance to its pilots with nominal tax deduction of 2.5%. It has been rehiring pilots and flight engineers on contract after retirement from PIA at age of 60 years, although the average utilization of regular in-service pilots is below 40 hours, while that of flight engineers is below 28 hours, as compared to industry average in excess of 65 hours per month. PIA has over 300 additional pilots on its payroll, hired during past 5 years, waiting for years to be operational, while it continues to rehire those who are retired and paying them lakhs of rupees per month. A PIA senior pilot flying a ‘B777’ earns in excess of Rs 1 million per month in salaries and allowances, which is five times more than what a PHD qualified man gets in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, PALPA, FENA, ATAP, SAEP, PIASSA were also expected to present their demands for salary raise and other perks and privileges to the management. They also demanded that pension of the retired employees should be increased every year in line with the salary increases of the regular employee according to the admin order number 21/2003. Also, there should be an increase in the pension from current 32% to 50% as per government rules.