KARACHI: Port Qasim Authority has adopted a tradition of hiring services of retired and over-aged pilots, by slowing down the induction of young new pilots. Informed sources disclosed that there is a gang of old-age pilots that are deliberately discouraging fresh pilots in the PQA.

Hamza Khan, Safdar Ali Zaidi, and Kazim Abbas were already retired but re-hired by the PQA while DC, Hasan Haidar Rizvi, HM, M. Imran Masood, DM, Habibullah Khan, and DHM, Sheikh Naeemudin are already on the verge of retirement within next year or so but the authorities did not think to find their replacements. 

According to maritime experts, the PQA has an extraordinarily large channel for navigation which requires a training process of more than a year for young inducted pilots. When port authorities would stop the process of new induction of young blood ultimately there would be a scarcity of trained manpower. 

On the other hand, the wages, allowances, and perks of pilots gradually increased with the passage of time and experienced pilots. Hence, there is a great difference between the salaries of old aged re-hired pilots compared to less experienced pilots which is a financial loss to the port funds. For example, a retired but re-hired pilot is earning Rs 1.7 million per month but the young pilot is paid Rs half a million only for the same job. The port authorities deliberately prefer the ancient guards for personal benefits but in violation of the higher courts' orders.    

The practice is that the regular pilots are sitting idle at home while the retired and re-hired pilots are frequently shipping the traffic at the port. On the other hand, a regular pilot performs his duties in a responsible manner while the old-age pilots do not perform well in the handling of the billions of dollars cargoes loaded ships. They are working without any proper legislation, rules & regulations and without approval from the maritime ministry.

The over sixty-year pilots’ are not only mentally but physically unfit for up and down jumping to the ships from the boats, which is a safety risk for not only their lives but for the PQA too. 

The Supreme Court has consistently deprecated the re-employment of retired persons. In many cases, the apex court has reiterated that the promotion of an employee was not to be blocked to accommodate a retired officer, and even if the promotion was not blocked by re-employment, then such powers could be exercised but only in exceptional cases. However, both the ports in Karachi are involved in the appointment of retired pilots without publishing advertisements inviting other qualified persons.

The Court has also declared illegal the appointment of a retired employee on contract, without publishing an advertisement for the post and thus denying equal opportunity to other persons.  

Published in The Daily National Courier, September, 21 2022

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