The dismissals have come amid an ongoing tiff between the PIA management and the SAEP, with the protesting engineers refusing to issue clearance certificates to aircraft — a move that has disrupted flight operations in recent days.
The engineers have been protesting for two-and-a-half months, seeking pay hikes among other demands.
While the PIA has claimed that the engineers are on “strike”, the SAEP maintains that its engineers on duty but not giving clearance certificates to aircraft without all the mandatory checks.
Earlier, the PIA spokesperson had highlighted that the Essential Services Act was in force in PIA under which strikes or abandonment of work was a legal offence. “All elements involved in or supporting such actions as part of a conspiracy will face legal action,” he had warned.
Subsequently, the now-dismissed two office-bearers had been summoned by the PIA management for the final hearing as an investigation against them was underway, a PIA spokesperson had earlier said, adding that the PIA would initiate legal action against them in line with the law.
The PIA management had called the SAEP president and general secretary for an inquiry on Tuesday, but they didn’t even show up on Wednesday.
Eventually, they were dismissed from service today.
For his part, Awais Jadoon had earlier said that the two officers were on duty and working, but could not compromise on safety and airworthiness. “We are being forced to issue clearance certificates (to release the planes), but we cannot put passengers’ lives at risk in such tense circumstances.”
He had also clarified that the engineers were not on strike and said that they were only issuing clearance certificates to aircraft completely fit for flying.
In response to a question about a meeting with the PIA management, he had said that they were not called by the management for negotiations or to address the issues raised by engineers, but they were called for a ‘personal inquiry’ initiated against them.
Meanwhile, the PIA has alleged that the engineer’s protest is aimed at sabotaging the national flag carrier’s privatisation.
The matter came into the spotlight when hundreds of air travellers were reported to have been stranded at three major airports on Monday night due to the aircraft engineers’ protest, which delayed at least six flights of the national flag carrier.
Similar delays have been reported at nearly all major airports in the country during the last two months.
On Tuesday, the PIA claimed to have restored flight operations through alternative arrangements. A PIA spokesperson said that the management had used alternative means and worked overnight to restore operations, mitigating the impact of already delayed flights on subsequent operations.
Yesterday, too, the PIA said it had managed to “partially restore its flight operations”.