PIA cancels working agreements with associations, including PALPA, SASA

The Pakistan International Airline revoked its working agreements with associations except for the elected body CBA (the collective bargaining agent), a notification issued on Thursday said.

According to the notification, associations including Pakistan Airline Pilots Association (PALPA), Senior Staff Association (SASA), and others will no longer be able to  negotiate with PIA's management.

Only the CBA, which is an elected body, will function as a bargaining agent between the employees and the management, the notification said, adding that the CBA will be able to do so as it is within the parameters of the law.

According to the national carrier's spokesperson, the associations will not have any role in the matters pertaining to salaries, privileges, and transfers of the employees.

PIA, compared to other organisations, had more groups that were running affairs parallel to the management, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the PIA Officers Association, rejecting the decision said that if the ban was not lifted soon they would challenge the notification in court.

The associations' general secretary said that this was the administration's bid to deprive thousands of employees of their basic rights.

PIA, PALPA tussle

Earlier, the PALPA and the PIA had been at loggerheads over pilots' safety as well as failure to adhere to coronavirus protocols. The national carrier had earlier alleged that the Sindh health department's officials insisted on forcefully quarantining the pilots despite instructions otherwise.

A report in The News had stated that the dispute arose after the PIA flight crew was detained in Karachi, with the PALPA claiming that safety had been compromised and that the COVID-19-related SOPs were ignored during the recent "humanitarian flights".

PALPA President Captain Chaudhry Salman had also claimed that the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) failed to ensure preset rules and regulations and that the negligence was a disaster for the airline. He had further alleged that the PIA was also violating its own rules by compelling pilots to perform duties for over 24 hours.