Downsize staff to turn profitable, JS body tells Biman

FE Report
Parliamentary standing committee on public accounts recommended Sunday reduction of the number of manpower of the state-backed Bangladesh Biman to a rational level by ascertaining the staff strength within next three months to help operate the national flag carrier profitably.
The JS body also recommended punishment of those who are responsible for a loss of Tk 22.10 million of the Biman by buying an engineless aircraft (air frame) and repay premium to the insurance company keeping the aircraft idle in the hangar.   
The committee made the recommendations at its 16th meeting, presided over by committee chairman Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir.
Other committee members Aman Ullah, Moin Uddin Khan Badal, AKM Maidul Islam, Rustam Al Farazi and Wasika Ayesha Khan were present.
The committee discussed the audit objection of the annual audit report of FY 2008-09 by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Bangladesh on four subsidiaries of civil aviation and tourism ministry.
The ministry asked Biman to reduce its employees to 3,400 from the approved 6,837 under voluntary retirement scheme in 2007, the meeting was told.
But the employees were not retrenched due to apprehension that the operational activities will be hampered. This caused the organisation a loss of Tk 500 million.
It was found during the audit that Biman appointed temporary staffs, who did not have minimum educational qualification, the meeting was told.
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