KARACHI, May 27: Pakistan International Airlines management has not yet implemented the decision of its board of directors regarding corporate management posts being held by the pilots, engineers and other technical people despite the lapse of the due date, it is learnt here reliably.

The national flag carrier’s public relations department, too, did not offer any comment on the matter despite repeated requests.

The sources said that the deadline given by the board also expired on May 24, 2012. The board had given an option to the officers to either get absorbed in the present positions or return to their original positions in their parent departments.

The sources said that though the due date had lapsed these officials continue to hold their positions despite the board’s decision against it.

The current situation has been costing extra hundreds of millions of rupees to the PIA as in certain cases the difference of take home salary/allowance, etc., between the normal executives and the pilot, engineer executives was more than double in general and even more than three times in certain cases.

According to highly-placed sources, the system of controversial postings of pilots and engineers, etc., on executive posts was introduced a few years back to extend favour to some of the management’s favourite employees in as they would then be getting the benefits, perks, salary and allowances of both the posts, and they normally cost the airline more than double if any other employee was posted there. Sources said that favouritism was so blatant that even a matriculate person was posted as a director in the national flag carrier.

They said that these postings, on one hand, created resentment among the employees of the department, whose promotions were affected, and on the other affected the efficiency of the service/workings of the department as the pilots, engineers, though being technical people had training, education in their respective fields but did not know much about the management, etc., so the work suffered.

The sources said that PIA’s secretary Mohammad Shuaib had communicated the decision of the board of directors to the management asking it to report back by May 24, 2012.

The communication informs the management regarding a decision taken by the board of directors about the “proposed policy on absorption of pilots and engineers, etc., into the corporate management cadre.”

It says, “Board decided that all pilots in pilot pay scales; flight engineers in flight engineers pay scale and officers engineering in officers engineering pay scales, who are working against positions of admin pay scales, should be given the option of getting themselves permanently absorbed in those positions by May 23, 2012, or getting reverted to their substantive functions in their parent departments viz flight operations department and engineering and maintenance department.

“Upon absorption, their salaries and allowances shall be fixed in admin pay scales accordingly. Those who do not exercise this option by May 23, 2012, will automatically stand reverted. In future, PIA will not bear financial or any other liability or renewal, continuity or obtaining of license, etc., for those who get permanently absorbed in admin pay scales.

“Board decided that effective immediately, management should not utilise the services of pilots, flight engineers, aircraft engineers and officer engineering against positions in admin pay scales except for where it is a mandatory/regulatory requirement.

“However, a pilot declared permanently unfit by the Civil Aviation Authority’s medical board may be offered any ground job with preference over external applicants in accordance with rules of the corporation, subject to vacancy and suitability. It is desired that the relevant Service Regulations should be accordingly amended.”

The sources said that some of the names of such officials — pilots, engineers, etc., — in the admin/executive posts are: Capt Junaid Yunus, currently holding the post of deputy managing director special projects; Capt Muzaffar Talpur (a close relative of a former federal minister and currently sitting MNA) holding the post of director flight services; Capt Saleem Ahmed currently holding the post of director of human resources; Amanullah Qureshi (director, procurement and logistics); Hanif Memon (deputy general manager, logistics); Abid Raza Khan (deputy general manager, Logistics); Anjum Amin Mirza (general manager, marketing); Malik Khalid Hussain (MIS); Tahir Ahmed and Asim Rehman.

“You are requested to provide the status update latest by May 24, 2012,” concludes the PIA secretary Mohammad Shuaib’s communication.

PIA’s spokesperson Sultan Hassan and his deputy Sameer Nizami were repeatedly approached through telephone and email by this reporter in order to get the organisation’s official version, which was not provided.