July 25, 2003	Friday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 24, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, July 24: The central secretary information of the PPP, Taj Haider, has expressed concern over the sacking of flight stewards in the PIA and the move to recruit new ones to accommodate the cronies of the regime.

In a statement on Thursday, Taj Haider said in 1995-96 a number of flight stewards were recruited by the PIA in accordance with required procedure. After undergoing necessary professional training, the flight stewards were put on PIA flights, he added.

“However. the management had now issued letters to these trained flight stewards that their appointment was irregular.”

Simultaneously, the posts of flight stewards were also advertised. The PPP leader said it was intriguing that while over 100 trained stewards were available they were not being put on flights and fresh applications had been invited.

The trained stewards, who are now being laid off, cannot even apply for the job because they had now crossed the age limit, he said.

Mr Haider said the decay in the PIA set in when the airline began sacking anyone reaching the age of 57 under its so-called golden handshake policy and sent home 3,000 of its most senior and experienced professionals, which resulted in a major mishap at Islamabad airport last Sunday when a PIA Jumbo nearly escaped a major disaster. “This decay is now being made more permanent by sacking the existing staff and replacing it with new hands”. He said the PIA had spent huge resources, time and effort in training the flight stewards and there was no reason why they should be sacked.