I am the daughter of a man who served in PIA for 37 years

[salarsikander]

Ah yes, children of privilege justifying their entitlements. Nothing new here.

Hi,

Nothing wrong if they are legally entitled to get benefits, then why shouldnt they ?
As long as it falls between the legal boundary its fine

 

[VCheng]

Hi,

Nothing wrong if they are legally entitled to get benefits, then why shouldnt they ?
As long as it falls between the legal boundary its fine

Legal entitlements, if obscene, will sink the whole damn enterprise, as we can see.

 

[salarsikander]

Legal entitlements, if obscene, will sink the whole damn enterprise, as we can see.

Hi,
Thats another story, but since its legal you cannot challenge it

Just like obscene so called Democratic system of Pakistan, right? no?

Using the same analogy, let the airline evolve.

 

[Mrc]

The issue is how would they justify....Because if they are fired then they can not work any where else and this stigma on their name has to be proven in the Court of Law. There is no Law concerning Redundancy like in UK for example.

One more thing is employees are permanent and are protected under the Constitution of Pakistan according to the date they were employed which makes it very difficult to make new laws to remove them from service. Law which works Retrospectively is illegal.[/QUOTE]



government from day one is saying two things.

1- its not going to be privatization
2- no body will loose their job.

why the strike??

government has every right to implement changes to make the entity profitable. why to strike??????

 

[Moonlight]

Ok your father is one loyal employee. Great!
If this is the thing, then we can not call all politicians corrupt. Definitely there are many great people in politics. But when majority of people in an organization are corrupt, people generalize and comment. You can't point out few in 100s before commenting. I am sure even you have generalized all the politicians and pass a comment on them. That's a universal thing.

 

[pak-marine]

By Saman Jafarey

Crew of a PIA Super Constellation (AP-AJZ) led by Capt. Raja Zia with Thailand’s royal couple at Dacca Airport, East Pakistan, on March 21, 1962. PHOTO: AHMED SAEED SIDDIQI'S COLLECTION

In wake of PIA’s possible privatisation, a lot of people have taken to social media to give their two cents worth. Fair enough, it is a debate of public interest. However, most of the statuses I have read are targeted towardsPIA’s employees– not the organisation as a whole, but the employees alone.

Facebook statuses and subsequent comments have said things like,

“Good for nothing (employees)”,

“Useless employees”,

“They are being overpaid”, and

“Now who would want to lose a job which pays even when you are sleeping.”

I am the daughter of a man who served for 37 years in PIA.

All of my life, my father worked for the national airline and retired in 2010. Six years on, he is still passionate about the organisation. Many evenings, he is on the phone conversing with his former colleagues and friends about the inevitable doom of the airline and what could and should be done to rectify it.

My father does not fit any of the aforementioned generalised labels people have been very kind to pass. He worked hard for a living and he was loyal to the organisation. It is from my father that I learnt to work honestly and with complete dedication to any job I take. My father is an earnest man and he instilled the same values in my sisters and me. I am nowhere close to where I want to be in my career but my biggest strength is that I have never disappointed an employer.

So before you judge all employees by the same scale, let me ask you a question: How many of you are aware that every time the government changes, be it PML-N or PPP, the top management of PIA does too?

This is done in order to reflect the governing party. With a Punjabi government in power, PIA sees an influx of Punjabis all around and it’s the same with Sindhis when PPP wins an election.

I am not being overly righteous here, but surely, you should be made a general manager or a director based on your qualifications, achievements and merits rather than merely being associated to the prime minister, right?

Or maybe that’s just me.

These executives have come and gone with the country’s General Elections. I recall my father commenting on how people of various high positions don’t have the ability to construct a grammatically correct sentence in English, let alone understand the aviation industry. So yes, some employees are useless but they didn’t get the job based on merits. We all know how they got the job. If you want to blame somebody, question the government.

How many of you are aware of the lesser known or rather, more popularly forgotten fact that it was indeed PIA that helped to establish Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Somali Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Air Malta and Yemini. Today, Emirates is one of the leading airlines in the world. Yes, it was PIA’s “useless employees” who trained Emirates employees back in the day.

To reiterate, it is the government that has driven PIA to failure by placing incompetent men in high positions of significant importance and decision-making. Had they allowed for men like my father, and other honest men with experience in the organisation, to continue climbing the corporate ladder, PIA would still be one of the leading airlines today.

PIA has employed various people who are loyal to it. These loyalists have experienced PIA’s glory days and want to see them return. These employees include my father, his friends and countless others. For all those who are supporting PIA’s privatisation, remember Nawaz Sharif is doing it so he can sell it to his grand-daughter’s in-laws. It’s going to become one of their family’s businesses. You’re not going to benefit from it. It is a personal gain and a national loss.

When I asked my father his views on the possible privatisation, he commented saying,

“While we talk of privatisation, it is based on the presumption that those who will take over as the new management will honour merit, implement proper management policies, thereby avoiding cronyism and nepotism. The simple and honest fact is that these are biological traits which the public sector executives lack.

If our political leaders decide they will not use public sector resources to award or purchase loyalties of political workers and stop meddling in the running of PIA, it could benefit the airline. With liquidative contracts and just employment, PIA can perform smoothly after privatisation as well. PIA did prove to be lucrative till the 80s, even though it was a public sector organisation.

While discussing public sector functionality against privatisation, the only important factor is honesty and transparency. In the case of PIA, we have to make sure our financial advisors have expertise in the aviation industry.

PIA is an organisation in a developing country. It has done its best in order to provide jobs to the educated youth but this has been misused by politicians.”

When I asked my father about the 780 to one employee ratio circulating on social media, he said he was not absolutely certain about it. Whatever the ratio may be, I am sure it won’t be the ideal proportion. One must bear in mind, however, that many of the comparisons we are making are with airlines in developed countries that have a higher literacy rate as compared to Pakistan. These international airlines are not corrupted by political appointees disregarding merit.

Most business operations in Pakistan are frequently disrupted by power breakdowns, political strikes and so on. PIA has employed drivers and purchased vehicles to ensure their pilots and other crew members arrive on time and safely for their flight schedules. Is that not responsibility?

Oh, and the tax payer’s money – did you know that PIA has its own medical establishment? They have hospitals and clinics and all their employees (from peons to directors) get free medical and dental treatment along with their families. With PIA, you don’t have to be a manager to get your family treated for an illness, which I think is commendable given the inflation in Pakistan; even a clerk can afford decent medical treatment for his family.

To conclude, as I have digressed quite a bit, I am proud of my PIA background. I am proud that my father served the national airline. I am proud of my father and his friends. I am proud that there are innumerable employees who go to work relentlessly in order to make a difference in an airline which everyone is quick to judge and criticise. For if it was not for men like my father, this airline would have closed many years ago.

Saman Jafarey
The author is a law graduate. She did her LL.B (Hons) from the University of London and LL.M in Commercial Law from the University of Hertfordshire.

I am the daughter of a man who served in PIA for 37 years – The Express Tribune Blog

Ah yes, children of privilege justifying their entitlements. Nothing new here.

another elite / privilaged child defendng her / his fathers ... ironic thing is the father / kids woke up after all these decades of abusing PIA to show for the records they care ... thats not justification he was a part of the system like the rest of his collragues

 

[Raja.Pakistani]

"
I'm pretty sure he was corrupt like any other, being loyal to PIA mean just that.

Haha yea PIA had more loyal employee than what it could afford

I always travelled in PIA..Its fare were not cheap but same or rather expensive than other airlines. It was always fully booked as did not even witnessed few empty seats but then i hear that PIA still losses in the billions ? why ? How?

 

[Mrc]

Haha yea PIA had more loyal employee than what it could afford

I always travelled in PIA..Its fare were not cheap but same or rather expensive than other airlines. It was always fully booked as did not even witnessed few empty seats but then i hear that PIA still losses in the billions ? why ? How?

Actually i agree....
As a frequent flyier....pia is always more expensive than airlines of gulf and most others....
And first to be fully booked...
And nearly always fully booked...

How come middle eastern airlines are providing far better aircraft and services at lower rates and still making billions ....

While pia runs a loss for 13 years despite always been fulky booked??

 

[Raja.Pakistani]

Actually i agree....
As a frequent flyier....pia is always more expensive than airlines of gulf and most others....
And first to be fully booked...
And nearly always fully booked...

How come middle eastern airlines are providing far better aircraft and services at lower rates and still making billions ....

While pia runs a loss for 13 years despite always been fulky booked??

no other logical explanation except corruption, mismanagement in PIA and having more loyal employees than it actually needed

 

[S.U.R.B.]

It's the decision of the government to make ,whether the GoP wants to privatize an institution run by the government or not.She herself mentions that it was the government that mismanaged the affairs.So, then why the difference of opinion when the GoP is making the right call here.


A competent, hardworking & an honest employee is always treasured by those guys sitting on the high positions.They can not get devalued with the change in administration.

By Saman Jafarey


PIA has employed various people who are loyal to it. These loyalists have experienced PIA’s glory days and want to see them return. These employees include my father, his friends and countless others. For all those who are supporting PIA’s privatisation, remember Nawaz Sharif is doing it so he can sell it to his grand-daughter’s in-laws. It’s going to become one of their family’s businesses. You’re not going to benefit from it. It is a personal gain and a national loss.

Well, all of sudden she has become a 'Najomi'.

 

[A.M.]

That's great news. Surely, over those 37 years, he has saved enough money that he can now retire in peace.

 

[Pandora]

My faimly has fair amount of PIA employees and i constantly hear how they get free rides on PIA. One time a politician held entire plane to manchester when i was going just bcz he wanted tea and lunch.

 

[Sully3]

Her dad was a loyal employee for 37 years so lets not privatise the airline and bring it into the 21st century.

 

[Gauss]

Ah yes, children of privilege justifying their entitlements. Nothing new here.

I had the misfortune to examine both the well born and the humble very closely. And i would trust a very well born with my eyes closed. A person from a very humble background, whatever he may achieve later, i would only trust after a through inspection. Maybe i will not trust him even then. My experience has taught me that honesty is completely dependent upon the circumstances in which one is born. The effect is particularly pronounced at the extremities of riches and poverty.

PS i can easily spot from her pic that she is a heavy drinker.

 

[Hell hound]

i don't give a damn what happens to pia,who was cause of its downfall or who owns it after privatization just keep this money sucking institution away from the neck of Pakistani taxpayer. if no one is willing to buy it then asset strip it or declare it bank corrupt do what ever it take just get rid of it.it is not an asset any more it is a liability and stop being sentimental about it. it is just an investment do what you are supposed to do when an investment goes bad divest it before i cause you further financial loss.