Employees observe strike against proposed PIA privatization
The office would be closed from 9 am to 11 am due to strike.
KARACHI (Dunya News) – The employees on Tuesday observed a two-hour strike against recommended privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in Karachi.
The strike was called on by a joint action committee comprising of members of different organizations during which the staffers were holding banners having slogans on them against the decision.
The ongoing strike has badly disrupted the working hours as all the offices would be closed from 9 am to 11 am. The workers demanded to mull the decision of PIA privatization.
The committee members warned of continuing the protest until the government retracts the decision of presidential ordinance aimed at privatizing PIA.
They also said that none of the higher officials including the chairman PIA will be allowed to enter offices.
On the other hand, workers also staged a protest for the same cause in Lahore and locked the office doors at Allama Iqbal International Airport.
Meanwhile in Faisalabad, the staffers urged the government to address their reservations regarding converting the national airlines into a corporation. The protesting community dispersed after chanting slogans against government for two hours.
"Due to pressure from PALPA (Pakistan Airline Pilots Association) so far 51 flights have been cancelled and it has affected 5,000 passengers since Thursday," spokesman for PIA Danyal Gilani said in a statement.
The row started after the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority suspended the licences of two pilots for one and two years respectively for "unlawfully operating flight without permission," he said.
The state-owned PIA has a fleet of 41 aircraft which include Boeing 777, Airbus A320 and ATR, and 436 active pilots.
