President Society of Aircraft Engineers Pakistan (SAEP), Shoukat Jamshed, in a letter to MD PIA has demanded that Executive Committee of the SAEP has decided that prior to the settlement of the working agreement, the core issue of salary ratio between pilots and engineers i.e. 100:55 between average salary of a pilot and average salary of an air craft engineer may be settled down before June 1, 2009 and the remaining parts of the agreement be finalised before June 30, 2009.
As per letter, their demands for salary and better working conditions were long lasting but management was paying no heed towards the issue.
The letter further speaks that minutes-1 of the meeting held on 4th of July, 2008 vide Minutes-I refer HO: HRA & C/102/P&P, in which promise was made to carry out a quality study of the regional airlines regarding the salary ratio of pilots to aircraft engineers and the same was to be completed within 60 days. So far no further progress has been made on this issue. Management in the past also agreed and promised to settle down the issue before March 2008, vide Minutes-I refer HO-HR & A / 111 / HRM, Dated 23 Nov, 2007 and Admin Order No. 15/2007 dated 19th Dec 2007. Moreover, similar understandings were made vide MoUs signed between SAEP and the then management. First MoU was signed between SAEP and management on 24th May 1989; second on 17th October 1996; third on 30th Nov, 2000 and fourth Admin Order No. 05/2001. Referring to Admin Order No. 05/2001, adhoc ratio payment to serving aircraft engineers towards partial maintenance of ratio of 100:55 between the emoluments of pilots and aircraft engineers was made as an acceptance for the subsistence of this ratio. Furthermore, due to the increase in guaranteed flying hours payment (from 50 to 70) of pilots, heavy rise in salary will further widen the gap between existing salary ratio causing momentous strife among the SAEP members.
IMF projects GDP at 3.5pc, single digit inflation in '10.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Thursday projected Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at 3.5 percent in financial year 2009-10, saying that the inflation would come down to single digit.
The IMF report on “Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East and Central Asia,” released on Thursday, said that the inflation would come down to 11.9 percent during 2008-09 and further slide to single digit at 7.5 percent in Fiscal year 2009-2010.
The report projected GDP growth at 2.5 percent during 2008-09 which was about 6 percent in 2007-08.
Speaking at the launching ceremony of the report here, IMF Resident Representative Pakistan, Middle East and Central Asia Department, Paul Rose observed that the budget deficit during 2009-10 would remain 4.6 percent.
He said that Pakistan’s Large Scale Manufacturing sector had to face shortfall in exports due to decreasing demand owing to global recession.
He was of the view that if the global recession continues Pakistan economy would be exposed to some risks including further decline in exports and private capital flows and decline in workers’ remittances.
He said that consolidating macroeconomic stability and ensuring protection of vulnerable groups should be policy priorities of the government adding that it needs to take care of the deprived sections of the society.
He said that the vulnerable groups could be protected through strengthening the social safety net by improved targeting of the poor under the Benazir Income Support Programme.
He maintained that the unemployment rate is likely to increase in Pakistan, as the direct investment in the country and foreign remittances have gone down.
He said that the third installment of IMF loan will be issued to Pakistan in July this year.
Briefing about the world economic outlook, he said that financial markets would remain highly stressed where as the world economy will contract in 2009 by around 1.25 percent before recovering gradually in 2010.
He said that emerging economies face dramatic drops in capital inflows, demand for their exports and commodity prices adding that a third wave of the global financial crisis is hitting the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries.
The IMF representative said that turning around global growth depends critically on concerted policy actions to stabilize financial conditions, as well sustained strong policy support to bolster demand.
APFMA cuts flour price by Rs10 per 20-kg .
ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Flour Mills Association (APFMA) has decided to reduce the prices of 20-kg flour bag up to Rs10 to provide flour at affordable prices.
Chairman APFMA Asim Raza said here on Thursday that the prices of flour were different region-wise because of the transportation cost of wheat.
He said that the ex-mill rate for Rawalpindi and Islamabad had been fixed at Rs510 instead Rs520 per 20-kg bag for a period of one month.
The decision in this effect was taken after observing slight decrease in the wheat prices in open market during current month as the price of wheat was reduced by about Rs30-35 per 40 kg, he said.
The millers were buying wheat from the open market at the rate of Rs960-970 per 40kg, which was now available at Rs925-930 per 40kg, the chairman said.TCP to import sugar, urea to stabilise prices.
KARACHI: The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has finalised arrangements to import fertiliser and sugar to meet the expected shortfall of both the commodities during coming months.
It has already issued tenders for import of 100,000 tons sugar and 260,000 tons fertiliser and both the commodities are expected to arrive in second half of next month.
This was stated by Saeed Ahmad Khan, chairman TCP while talking to Dawn in his office on Thursday.
He said that TCP was ready to eliminate shortage of fertiliser for kharif crops as well sugar by importing that much quantity of both the commodities, which could help stabilise prices by increasing their availability in the local market.
The TCP chief said that 260,000 tons urea will start arriving from third week of June because there is a gap of 800,000 tons with production at 4.8 million tons and requirement at 5.6 million tons.
Every year there is fertiliser shortage and the government has to import to stabilise prices so that growers do not suffer, he said. Actually speculators and hoarders take advantage of demand and supply gap to make quick money but in the process country’s major crops suffer adversely due to such tactics.
Consequently, Mr Khan said that the kharif crops of rice, cotton and sugarcane would not face urea shortage as the government was fully alive of the situation and will not allow hoarders and profiteers to surge fertiliser prices to their advantage.
This season the TCP was asked by the government to procure 0.5 million cotton bales but the corporation after procuring 192,698 bales has to stop because cotton prices in the domestic market stabilised.
Responding to a question, he said the TCP procured cotton at an average price of Rs3,202 per maund and presently price in the open market has gone beyond Rs3,600.
The imported 0.1 million tons of sugar is expected to reach Karachi by end- June and hopefully it will help to stabilise prices, which are expected to rise owing to lower production of sugar during the coming season.
According to estimates the TCP chairman said the present stocks of sugar with TCP and sugar mills were at around 2.2 million tons, including 25,000 tons of TCP’s earlier stocks. These stocks would be sufficient for up to November or the start of next crushing season.
Undoubtedly, Mr Khan said the TCP is paying higher price for 0.1 million tons as the world sugar prices have gone up to $474-$494 in May against $451 per ton quoted in February this year.
This would mean that the landed cost to TCP on new imports would come to around Rs50 per kg and the government will sell it at a subsidised rate of Rs38 per kg.
However, he said there was a rare possibility that the corporation would suffer losses on sugar imports because it would be making profits on earlier stocks (imports) when prices in the world market were lower by around $40 per ton and would cost the TCP at Rs20 per kg in local market.
He said that the TCP tendering was transparent as it adheres to PEPRA rules, which under clause 40 do not allow negotiations and the lowest has to be awarded if all tender conditions are met.
Our Staff Reporter adds from Lahore: The problem of issuance of letters of credit (LCs) for the import of urea was resolved on Thursday after the Trading Corporation of Pakistan convinced the banks to provide guarantees for 255,000 tons import.
According to Shahid Hussain Raja, additional secretary (fertiliser) of ministry of food and agriculture, the liquidity crunch mainly caused by wheat procurement had hit the banks and imports alike. The government agencies, especially the Punjab Food Department launched a huge procurement drive, which emptied coffers of most of the banks.
But the TCP convinced the banks on the basis of its improved financial health having received money from provinces against imported wheat supply, he said.
