Palpa pleads Defence Committee to hold fact-finding session

KARACHI (PR) - Current row between Pakistan Airline Pilots Association (PALPA) and PIA management is not over the increase in salaries, the Defense Committee is being misled by the MD PIA. However, listening to one-sided version of management is against the principles of justice, the honourable Defense Committee should give a chance to pilots to state the facts. This was stated by Capt Imran Usman President PALPA in a letter to the Chairman, Senates Standing Committee on Defense. After the MD PIAs briefing to Senates Standing Committee on Monday, the Executive Committee of PALPA met and observed that remarks regarding blackmailing for salary increase were given because only one-sided picture as forwarded to the honourable members of the Defense Committee. The letter sent to the Standing Committee on Defense is signed by members of Executive Committee PALPA Captain Imran Usman President, Captain Suhail Baluch Vice President, Captain Arif Majeed General Secretary, Captain Suhail Ahmed Joint Secretary and Captain Sadiq Rehman Treasurer. Capt Imran said the MD PIA has been cunningly misleading the press and general public about PALPAs demands and now he has gone to an extent that the forum not less than that of Upper House has been misled on record. He said that the Standing Committee is briefed that pilots are getting 2-7 lacs salary monthly, the pilots are certainly ready to accept it from this very month but it will be honourable members responsibility that MD PIA, habitually, does not back out from his statement. The letter said that only last year on his visit to PALPA headquarters after becoming MD of PIA Capt Ijaz Haroon had said that pilots are overworked and underpaid and the salaries are not a problem as they are only 16pc of PIA earning, whereas other airlines are paying up to 35pc.