In principle, PIA’s Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) was meant to provide a win-win situation. The government would be able to offer the national flag carrier for restructuring after trimming it of excess employees, PIA would shed employees and thus cut costs, reducing losses at a time when the covid-19 pandemic had wreaked destruction on all airlines, while employees would get a lump sum so that they could make a fresh start. Only there was one problem. PIA didn’t have the money. That put it in the embarrassing position of having promised to pay employees large sums, but failing to do so, as the file has gone to the Finance Ministry, and apparently got lost there. The VSS went up to December 31, which means that more almost seven weeks have passed, but no payment has been released, even though January 31 was supposed to be the last date for the payment to the 2000 employees who had opted for the VSS. A reason given for the delay is that the Auditor-General of Pakistan was carrying out a special audit of the payment process.
The restiveness among affected employees is reaching the point where they are thinking of taking to the Islamabad streets to protest for their money. They may well have taken encouragement from the success of Pak Secretariat employees, whose protest was dispersed by tear gas, but who got a promised pay raise. That example made the devious treatment of the PIA employees, part of a pattern, whereby the government promises people money, and then welshes on its promises. The government apparently likes the buzz from promising money, but when it is time to pay up, it has to display austerity to the IMF, which has recently returned to its current IMF.
Rather than take a huge amount of flak later on, the government would find it would be better served by biting the bullet, and not making promises it cannot honor. If nothing else, it should be careful about playing with the sentiments of those who may be depending on the payment that has been promised. A government’s promise should be a certainty, not an expression of hope.
