Strike by engineers grounds Pakistan's national airline, strands passengers

[fatman17]

Strike by engineers grounds Pakistan's national airline, strands passengers
The Associated PressPublished: November 2, 2007

KARACHI, Pakistan: A nationwide strike by Pakistani aircraft engineers protesting pay and work conditions halted flights and left hundreds of passengers stranded across the country Friday, officials said.

The engineers with state-run Pakistan International Airlines went on full strike Friday after launching a work go-slow protest earlier this week, the airline said in a statement.

It led to about 50 flight cancellations — 40 percent of the airline's schedule — in the latest crisis to affect the debt-mired airline, PIA said.

"We are open for discussion, and our senior management is negotiating with them to find a way out," said PIA chairman Zafar Khan.

PIA said that it was continuing talks with the Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan, the body representing the engineers — but that their demands were too high.

Shaukat Jamshed, chairman of the engineers' society, said, "All of our 818 engineers have gone on sick leave, and we will not work over the weekend as well."

PIA was considered one of the best airlines in the developing world in the 1960s and '70s, but in March, the European Union barred most of PIA's planes due to safety concerns. Critics blame the slide in quality and maintenance standards on government interference in the airline's operations.

 

[Spring Onion]

They are stick to their demands however i had talked to a pilot just 10 mnts back he said the PIA admin has now used to such demands and it will be solved soon.

But i guess they need to take into consideration the demands also.

fatman you are right but i guess some wrong and political appointment based at political affiliation by Benazir Bhutto had cost the PIA and added much to its declining standards.

 

[blain2]

Privatizing PIA is the only solution....the problem is the free-loaders in Pakistan who know that as long as this entity is nationalized, they can get away with non-performance.

Privatize the entire airline industry and see how things improve.

 

[fatman17]

Privatizing PIA is the only solution....the problem is the free-loaders in Pakistan who know that as long as this entity is nationalized, they can get away with non-performance.

Privatize the entire airline industry and see how things improve.

yes i agree - 26,000 employees for a fleet of ~50 aircraft is ridiculous.

 

[Neo]

Privatizing PIA is the only solution....the problem is the free-loaders in Pakistan who know that as long as this entity is nationalized, they can get away with non-performance.

Privatize the entire airline industry and see how things improve.

Totally agree here, privatisation with foreign management is the only way to safe PIA from going down the abyss.
I'd love to see Emirates aquire the management stake like they did with Air Lanka (Srinlankan now) and make it a professional and profitable airline once again.

 

[Bull]

I'd love to see Emirates aquire the management stake like they did with Air Lanka (Srinlankan now) and make it a professional and profitable airline once again.

That would be amazing and very much a possibilty. Dubai is pouring in money everywhere.

 

[fatman17]

Pakistan International Airlines flights resume after engineers call off nationwide strike
The Associated PressPublished: November 3, 2007

KARACHI, Pakistan: Engineers with Pakistan's state-run airline ended a nationwide strike that left thousands of passengers stranded for two days, though they failed to secure sought after pay rises, union officials said Saturday.

Officials at Pakistan International Airlines said — with 5,000 people affected — it could take days before flight schedules return to normal.

More than 800 airline engineers had been pushing for salaries that match internationally acceptable standards last week by reducing productivity in a go-slow campaign. When that did not work, they announced plans to collectively take "sick leave."

On Friday, 92 domestic and international flights were canceled, forcing officials to turn away long lines of irate passengers. By Saturday morning, airline spokesman Nasir Jamal, said just 25 percent of the carrier's flights were running, forcing the national railway to run extra trains.

The engineers agreed to go back to work because they were worried about the welfare of the passengers, said Mashkoor Hussain of The Society of Aircraft Engineers, which is representing the striking employees. He said they would continue to push for pay rises, but did not elaborate.

Debt-mired Pakistan International Airlines, which has suffered a cumulative loss of US$583 million (€400 million) over past four years, said it could not afford to meet the workers' demands. It did not immediately comment on Hussain's claims that the airline had not made good on a 1989 deal promising engineers 50 percent of pilots' incomes.

Considered one of the best airlines in the developing world in the 1960s and '70s, Pakistan International Airlines has seen its fortunes plummet in recent years, and last-ditch efforts to turn things around by spending on new aircraft and foreign consultants have backfired.

In March, the European Union barred most of the airline's planes due to safety concerns.

 

[Spring Onion]

yes i agree - 26,000 employees for a fleet of ~50 aircraft is ridiculous.

That too employed mostly at political basis.