ISLAMABAD: The Senate will hold a debate on Monday (today) about the recent decision of the management of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to lay off almost 1,000 "surplus" employees and other measures to reduce their operating cost.
The 42-point agenda issued by the Senate Secretariat for Monday's session includes a motion by Senator Mian Mohammad Ateeq Shaikh of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) seeking a discussion on "structural modernization and austerity measures that are being currently taking on PIA to get him out of his financial crisis. ”
The president and chief executive of the PIA, air marshal Arshad Malik, informed the prime minister's advisor, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, during a meeting on Friday that the airline's management had dismissed the "surplus" employees .
The PIA executive director informed Dr. Sheikh about various activities and initiatives undertaken by the PIA administration to reduce its operating cost and increase revenues through better administration and the effective use of available financial and human resources.
According to reports, Dr. Shaikh stated that the government was totally behind the management of PIA and expected him to work diligently to turn the national flag carrier into an economically stable, viable and reliable airline for local and international travelers.
Air Marshal Malik thanked Dr. Sheikh for his guidance and support and said that PIA management had been able to lay off almost 1,000 "redundant employees" to save costs.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting of the Aviation Division in Islamabad to discuss the PIA business plan, requirements and other matters.
The prime minister ordered the executive director of PIA to improve airline performance and increase travel facilities. Mr. Khan also ordered the Ministry of Finance to cooperate with the PIA in the purchase of new aircraft.
The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) accuses both the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan-Nawaz Muslim League (PML-N) of converting the PIA and other state institutions into entities that generate losses by Recruit Loyalists and activists.
The PPP, on the other hand, denies these charges, but always defends its decision to provide jobs to people during their governments.
The Senate can also hold discussions on "the current position of Pakistan's economy and the ways and means to improve it", "the need and importance of creating structured links between the members of the Senate and their constituents, that is, the provincial assemblies , to safeguard and protect the rights and interests of the federating units and guarantee the provincial autonomy granted by the Constitution "," the situation derived from the non-establishment of tourist centers in the coastal areas of Balochistan and the Hangool National Park "," the program of studies prescribed for the review of the Central Superior Services (CSS) in the country at present "and on" the issue of food insecurity in the country with particular reference to Balochistan ".
Meanwhile, the introduction of the Bill of Commercial Organizations (Amendment), 2019; the Bill of the National Authority against Terrorism (Amendment), 2019; the Islamabad Pure Food Authority Bill, 2019; the Pakistan Criminal Code (Amendment) bill, 2019; the National Responsibility Law (Amendment) Bill, 2019; and the Electricity Generation, Transmission and Distribution Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2019 are also on the agenda of the Senate session to be held after a two-day break.
The upper house of Parliament will begin a debate on a deferred resolution proposed by Senator Bahramand Tangi that seeks to move the headquarters of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) from Lahore to Islamabad, in addition to taking a series of other resolutions.
Posted on Dawn, September 2, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1503039/senate-to-debate-layoffs-in-pia-today
