Loss-making PIA to 'consider' salary raise of employees

KARACHI: The loss-making Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) likely to consider salary raise of employees today (Friday), quoting well-placed sources, ARY News reported.

As per details, the PIA HR Committee is scheduled to meet today in Karachi to discuss the proposed salary increase for employees, sources confirmed.

A comprehensive plan for the pay raise will be presented during the meeting. If approved by the committee, the matter will be forwarded to the Board of Directors for final approval.

It is noteworthy that PIA employees have not received any salary increments since 2015.

The government of Pakistan is trying to sale the PIA but the first attempt failed as it received only one bid of Rs10 bln. The government while rejecting the bid forwarded matter of the privatisation to the cabinet again.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Privatization, Aleem Khan held the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) responsible for the failed Pakistan International Airlines sale.

This he stated while expressing his views in the Senate Standing Committee on Privatization, which met under the chair of Senator Talal Chaudhry here in Islamabad.

The meeting discussed the reasons behind the lower bid for PIA sale. Aleem Khan said the process of PIA privataization started on November 28, 2023, before he assumed charged as the privatization minister.

He said PIA’s losses were Rs830 billion at the time of privatization and the process cannot be halted once it begins.

Holding Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) responsible for the PIA’s failed privatization, Aleem Khan said the body was asked to remove provision of GST on the buying of new aircraft, but they did not accept it.