PIA worries

The imminent privatisation of PIA is particularly troublesome for its retired employees. They are not sure if they are going get a raise in their pensions once the airline goes to the private sector. The government has already taken away some of their benefits. For example the Ishaq Dar-led finance ministry has introduced indiscriminate tax measures – both for in-service and retired employees of PIA. This is sheer injustice because retired employees cannot bear these new tax measures.

The retired PIA staff have not been given any raise in their pensions for a long time despite the fact that the government has increased pensions by 10 percent for all cadres of the civil service. Instead of going for complete privatisation, the government should give the PIA board and its chairman/managing director a free hand to steer the ailing airlines towards the path of recovery.

Bashir Ahmad

Karachi