In response to plans to privatise Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and cut workers’ conditions and militancy, workers at the airline have been on strike for over a month. In response, the government initially provided military pilots to the PIA to keep aeroplanes flying and then, as the workers held firm, it passed the Essential Services Act curtailing civil liberties. Earlier this week, the Pakistani government went further by brutally repressing a demonstration by workers with two workers being shot dead and many others injured. Protests against this savagery continue in Pakistan.
In response to plans to privatise Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and cut workers’ conditions and militancy, workers at the airline have been on strike for over a month. In response, the government initially provided military pilots to the PIA to keep aeroplanes flying and then, as the workers held firm, it passed the Essential Services Act curtailing civil liberties. Earlier this week, the Pakistani government went further by brutally repressing a demonstration by workers with two workers being shot dead and many others injured. Protests against this savagery continue in Pakistan.