The Indonesian government has moved to head off a 24-hour strike planned for Thursday by Garuda Indonesia pilots.
Jakarta said it was ready to sit down to discuss the pilots’ grievances – but time was running out to strike a deal.
The dispute centres on alleged discriminatory salaries at the state carrier, where foreign pilots are reportedly paid more than double their local counterparts.
The Garuda Indonesia Pilots Association claims that a foreign first officer receives as much as US$7,200 a month, which includes accommodation benefits; a captain receives US$10,200 including benefits while a local first officer receives US$5,030. 


“It often happens that our captains have to fly with foreign first officers on a higher salary,†said a spokesman for the pilots.
Garuda Indonesia has 897 permanent pilots and 43 contract pilots, of which 34 are foreign.



Garuda Indonesia spokesman Pudjobroto said 

 

hiring foreign pilots was part of Garuda’s efforts to become a world-class airline, anticipating the “ASEAN Open Sky 2015â€. 


