Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association (PALPA) has taken an exemplary initiative to support the airlines' lower salaried staff financially, providing them a demanding relief with a cut in their own flying allowances on voluntary basis. This has been decided in the resolution adopted recently in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association (PALPA).
The pilots' community has offered the NA administration a voluntary deduction of 10 per cent of their duty allowance, flying allowance and 10 per cent of their basic and additional allowances for distribution among lower salaried staff of group I to IV.
Besides, it was decided that management pilots will forego all their 1.5 times additional flying allowance, which they receive under the heads of on route check, simulator and non-slip flying etc. PALPA President Suhail Baluch said that the amount from deduction of pilots' allowances would be offered to the management for the support of lower grade staffs' salary increase.
The association feels proud that its membership approved the move suggested by Executive Committee at the time when all the ranks of PIA employees have expressed solidarity and unity recently to impeach an inefficient management, which had caused huge losses to the airlines due to which for past several years, the employees were not given any salary increase, he added.
Baluch said that the pilots are contented to disburse their allowances among fellow staff members, though they have a fair idea that on individual level, this will not be a very handsome amount but the unprecedented move of PIA's history will be taken as a gesture of goodwill.
PALPA chief said that the pilots would support all efforts of the new administration to pull PTA out of hot waters. PIA is a national asset and all employees would work relentlessly to bring back its lost glory, he added. The Annual General Meeting of PALPA also gave mandate to the executive committee to resolve long overdue issue of the seniority of pilots, as agreed upon in the Working Agreement and instructions given by the Ministry of Defence. The AGM was informed that new MD PIA Captain Nadeem Yousuf Zai has also agreed and formed a committee to resolve the issue of pension for all the employees of PIA in the shortest possible time.-PR