Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met PIA’s Air League union officials at the PM House on Friday morning.
Matters pertaining to the revival of PIA came under discussion during the meeting.
The prime minister congratulated the Air League for taking the office of Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA) and expressed the hope that the league would work to bring improvement in the corporation. He said the PIA had a glorious past and the people of Pakistan expect its employees to work hard to bring it back to the same level. A monolithic workforce is required in PIA to lead the national flag carrier towards progress and development, he said.
The prime minister said the PIA had a lot of potential for revival which was required to be harnessed with a consistent effort. The government being the major stakeholder will always remain committed to achieve this objective, he said.
The prime minister said every employee of the PIA should join hands with the government in its policy of reviving and revamping of PIA in order to make it a more responsive and profit earning entity.
The prime minister said US$ 15 million had been provided to the PIA for inducting 15 aircraft in its fleet on dry lease as equity in order to revive the corporation. Besides, Rs 16 billion have been given to the PIA from the national exchequer as bailout package.
He said he would visit the PIA headquarters in Karachi and seek a detailed presentation on improving its image and service, while reducing its losses. The prime minister was informed that the Air League was currently the representative body of more than 8000 PIA employees. The union officials apprised the prime minister of various matters relating to PIA and gave suggestions for its revival.