Pakistan’s National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) has sentenced three senior officials in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to six months’ imprisonment for the court of court after repeatedly defying legal orders, according to an official decision that was handed down on Thursday.

The Commission also imposed a fine of RS50,000 on each official. Failure to pay the fine will result in a further prison of one month.

In a detailed judgment, NIRC member Abdul Ghani Mengal Deputy Deputy Generator Khurram Mushtaq, head of staff resources at has Hussain and Pia Balochistan General Manager Sadiq Muhammad Lodhi guilty of contempt. The court declared the three unjustified people of future employment or representation in any public, semi-government or government institution.

The Commission also ordered an immediate suspension of the officials’ salary and financial privileges.

The order comes from a petition filed by 17 PIA employees based in Balochistan seeking permanent employment status in accordance with section 25 of the Balochistan Industrial Relations Act from 2010. The workers – employed as guardians and cleaning assistants, claimed that they had earned the airline for periods from two to twenty years without being regulated.

Their plea was originally rejected by Labor Court, but was later maintained by Balochistan Labor Appellate Tribunal in a decision on March 24, 2012 that ordered their regulation. Pia contested the decision in Balochistan High Court and subsequently in the Supreme Court, but both appeals were rejected.

Despite clear directions from superior courts, Pia failed to implement the decision. The Commission noted that more than seven years had gone without compliance and that the airline not only ignored the decision but also failed to respond to contempt notifications.

The court noted that although some employees were eventually regulated, the process ignored legal instructions and omitted payment of retrospective financial benefits.

“This contempt act is not motivated by personal vendetta, but is important to maintain public confidence and the dignity of the judiciary,” the decision states.

The court instructed relevant police stations, police inspector generals in Balochistan and Islamabad and the prison authorities to immediately act on the arrest and imprisonment of the convicted officials. It also issued a message to the Ministry of Defense to ensure compliance with the court’s orders.

In response, Pia officials announced plans to challenge the decision on an appropriate forum, saying that the verdict would be disputed in the light of the ongoing privatization process and related administrative challenges.