PIA to lay off 3,500 employees as ECC approves Rs12.8b for VSS

A principal amount of Rs12.8 billion has been proved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for Pakistan International Airlines' Voluntary Separation Scheme, The News reported on Tuesday.

The cash-starved national airline will lay off around 3,500 employees by offering the option of VSS to permanent employees.

The cost of the scheme will be worked out after reviewing the number of employees who opt for VSS. In case more than 3,500 employees decide to avail the offer, the management would devise criteria.

The ECC meeting

The ECC meeting was chaired by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh at the Cabinet Division on Monday. Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar, SAPM on Revenue Dr. Waqar Masood, SAPM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar and Adviser to the PM for Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr. Ishrat Hussain attended the meeting. Governor State Bank of Pakistan Dr. Reza Baqir also participated through video links.

Read more: ECC gives go-ahead to private sector for import of 2.5 million tons of wheat

Other decisions

The ECC also approved technical supplementary grants for the Ministry of Defence as fencing of the border with Iran would be done with these funds.

The ECC approved budgetary allocation in favour of NITB for provision of ICT services at the Prime Minister’s Office for Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Programme for FY/2020-21 to the tune of Rs53 million as requested by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.

In the light of a summary presented by the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication regarding manufacturing of SIMs/Smart-cards in Pakistan, after due deliberation, the chair directed to constitute a committee to examine the proposal and present a report for the way forward within two weeks.

The committee would be chaired by the Minister of Industries and Production, Hammad Azhar, and would include representatives from the Ministry of IT & Telecom., FBR and Board of Investment (BOI).

Likewise, the ECC recommended to form a committee consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R) to decide a timeline for the export of Mango and Kinnow as deemed suitable by the aforesaid committee after due consultation with the stakeholders.

The ECC gave concurrence to the proposal by the Petroleum Division, in principle, regarding allocation of gas from Bashar X-IST to third party up to 1.0 MMCFD. The ECC also approved four separate Technical Supplementary Grants for the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior for various projects during current FY 2020-21.The ECC approved budgetary allocation in favour of NITB for the provision of ICT services at the Prime Minister’s Office for Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Programme for FY/2020-21 to the tune of Rs53 million as requested by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.

In the light of a summary presented by the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication regarding the manufacturing of SIMs/Smart-cards in Pakistan, after due deliberation, the chair directed to constitute a committee to examine the proposal and present a report for the way forward within two weeks.

The committee would be chaired by the Minister of Industries and Production, Hammad Azhar, and would include representatives from the Ministry of IT & Telecom., FBR, and Board of Investment (BOI).

Likewise, the ECC recommended forming a committee consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R) to decide a timeline for the export of Mango and Kinnow as deemed suitable by the aforesaid committee after due consultation with the stakeholders.

The ECC gave concurrence to the proposal by the Petroleum Division, in principle, regarding the allocation of gas from Bashar X-IST to a third party up to 1.0 MMCFD. The ECC also approved four separate Technical Supplementary Grants for the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior for various projects during the current FY 2020-21.