Anti-privatisation employees shut PIA booking offices, training centers

KARACHI: Employees of ailing Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have rejected a management request to reopen offices, as the anti-privatisation workers shut down airline’s sales offices across the country on the first day of their week-long protest.

The protestors have shut down the airline’s training center and booking offices. However, flight operations have not disturbed.

“We met the management and told them that we can’t take back our protest call and will continue it until the government scrap its privatisation plan,” said Captain Sohail Baloch, head of employees Joint Action Committee against the airline’s privatisation.  “We have also warned the management that in case our demands are not met, the flight operations would be suspended on February 2.”

The protest involves hundreds of staff employed by the state-controlled airline, which has been earmarked for privatisation.

The committee of the airline workers planned eight days of protest, starting on January 26 and continuing until February 2 after the National Assembly piloted a bill with the majority to convert PIA into a public limited company (The Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (conversion) Bill, 2015.

PIA workers are demanding that the bill be retracted.

“We have asked the management to convey our demand to the government. The bill should immediately be withdrawn from the National Assembly,” Sohail said. “We don’t want to go for any extreme action, including disruption of flight operations, but we can’t promise it will not happen.”

Sohail said that if the authorities refuse to listen to the demand “they will ground all aircraft from February 2 deadline.”

He said the committee staged protests in various cities, including Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta and were attended by the representatives of all the associations of the employees, pilots and officers.

Last week the government had passed the PIA (conversion) Bill, 2015 in the National Assembly, saying the step had been taken to improve performance and financial position of the airline.  PIA remains on top of the list of the Privatisation Commission of Pakistan since long. The International Monetary Fund, the leading creditor to the country, has also been urging the government to get it privatised sooner than later.

The government has planned to sell-off 26 percent shares in the airline to a strategic partner with the management control.

Earlier this month, the airline reported a net loss of Rs20.55 billion for the nine-month ended September 30, as low ticket prices, losing making routes and negative currency effects offset virtually all the benefits of lower fuel prices.

The airline; however, managed to cut its losses by 7.83 percent from the last year’s same period losses of Rs22.29 billion.

The jet fuel accounted for around 49 percent (or Rs37.83 billion) of the total cost of services of the airlines during January-September 2014.  The fuel cost declined to around 33 percent (or Rs21.67 billion) in the under review period.

The airlines also booked a loss of Rs2 billion on account of currency exchange against a profit of Rs2.36 billion in the corresponding period.