Challenged PAA for categories of pensioners, allegedly hiding reports that found no evidence of ‘overpayments’
Pakistan International Airlines passenger plane. Photo archive: Reuters
The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) operates under one umbrella but applies separate rules for its thousands of retired employees. While thousands of retirees receive full pensions and other benefits, more than 2,500 employees are deprived of annual pension increases.
According to documents and information obtained by Express News, retired PAA employees have faced severe financial hardship and misery over the past five years due to the non-uniform implementation of pension increases.
The PAA management is allegedly violating the rules by creating four different categories for retired employees:
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Category 1: Employees who retired on or before June 30, 2014 and have been receiving all pension increases regularly until 2025 without any gap.
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Category 2: Approximately 2,280 employees who retired between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2022. They are not receiving pension increases for the years 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025.
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Category 3: 309 employees who retired between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023. They received raises for 2022 and 2023 but are deprived of raises for 2024 and 2025.
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Category 4: Employees who retired between July 1, 2023 and June 2025. They received the 2023 raise but have not been granted the 2024 and 2025 raises.
The current administration, which has been handling the pension issue for the past five years, is the same administration that previously declared the 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 pension increases as “excess payments.”
Today, the same administration, at its 18th Board Meeting, approved pension increases for 2011 and 2015. However, it now maintains that the increases granted for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 are “excess payments” for category 2 retirees.
The question remains: How can the earlier increases (2011 and 2015) be considered correct while the later increases (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) are declared surpluses for Category 2?
Haseeb-ur-Rehman, a retired senior official of the PAA, filed a complaint with the Senate of Pakistan on this matter. The Senate carried out a full investigation, giving the aviation secretary, the director of human resources, the then director general of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the director of finance the opportunity to appear before it.
However, none of them could prove that the pension increases in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 were “excesses”. This report is supposedly hidden from both the PAA Board and the Senate.
Additionally, a three-member committee headed by the secretary of aviation also conducted a thorough review but found no evidence of any overpayments. This report is also reportedly hidden from the PAA Board.
Under the rules implemented in 2014, uniform principles apply to all retired employees and discrimination based on retirement date is not permitted. The current administration’s claim that pension increases do not apply to those retiring on or after July 1, 2014 has no legal basis.
Retired PAA employees Haseeb-ur-Rehman and Afzal have demanded that the investigation reports be made public. They argue that these employees, who worked tirelessly – even during Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha – to ensure the growth of the institution and its billions of profits, are being subjected to unfair treatment.
When contacted for comment, the PAA spokesperson stated that the authority has consistently granted pension increases in accordance with applicable federal government rules and its own service regulations.
Regarding the concerns raised by the pensioners, the spokesperson added that a proposal to resolve the matter has been prepared and will be presented for consideration at the next board meeting, with the final decision subject to board approval.
