'B777' pilots salaries raised by Rs70,000

LAHORE - The national flag carrier PIA, which is suffering huge losses of over Rs 74 billion, has made immediate raise in salaries for pilots on B777 of Rs70,000 per month with service duration condition. This translates into hike of 28 percent for junior pilots and almost 17.5 percent for senior pilots in the head of Guaranteed Flying Allowance, which is subject to taxation at a lower rate of 2.5 per cent only, said sources in aviation industry on Saturday.
An MoU was signed by the PIA MD and President Palpa on April 24 in the Ministry of Defence and countersigned by Joint Secretary Amjad Toor and Additional Secretary Defence Maj Gen Mir Haider Ali Khan.
Based on the MoU, the PIA management has issued an admin order dated April 27, 2009 amending the Cockpit Crew Service Rules Admin Order 17/2001, whereby the 50 Guaranteed Flying Allowance paid every months to PIA pilots has been increased up to 70 Guaranteed Hours. The concession given by the pilots are 25 flights with 12 hours of duty as compared to the existing waiver of 20 flights, with a restriction that these flights will not involve more than two landings during 2200 hours to 0600 hours local time.
The MoU binds the PIA management to conclude working agreement with Palpa by 30 July 2009, failing which the matter will be decided by arbitration. The pilots are expected to be given additional incentives apart from the normal annual increment of 10 percent in basic salary etc. The issue of salary raise started when PIA management refused to grant annual salary increment to all employees citing financial constraints while it regularised the services of over 7,500 daily wages, contractual staff recruited during the Musharraf tenure and reinstatement of over 300 employees axed during the late 90s, with backdated salaries and seniority.
This salary hike concession given to pilots will result in a chain reaction, with the aircraft engineers having already given a notice for similar proportional raise. A senior officer of PIA seeking anonymity said that all the associations including, SSA, ATOP, CBA and SEAP have forwarded their charters of demands to management seeking raise in salaries and a committee into this effect has been formed for further action.
When contacted, spokesman of the airline said that all the things were on record and pilots were given only 70 guaranteed hours instead of 50 which they would be bound to complete within three months.
About the other associations he said under the labour laws only CBA union is authorised to have negotiations with management, all other were the welfare associations and they were not competent to have negotiations or present charter of demands to the management.