As per the media reports, an agreement have been arrived upon between Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its pilots' union on pay cuts and non-paid leaves.

The latest move is being seen as the cost-cutting effort of the airline to be able to meet the effects of the global economic downturn.

Via a statement issued late Friday, SIA said that pilots have agreed to take a day of leave each month without pay.

The airline further confirmed that pilots have also nodded their head in yes to take a cut of 65 percent of one day's pay out of their monthly basic salary. 

The latest measures would come into effect from 1st July and the airline thinks they were mandatory since it has extra pilot resources because of the cutback in flights following the sharp fall in demand for air travel.

Earlier, an agreement with its other staff unions had been reached upon by the airline, related to cost-cutting measures, including shorter work months and grounding some of its planes.

According to SIA, approximately, "2,000 employees have signed up for its voluntary no-pay leave scheme, under which staff could apply for leave without pay for durations of up to two years."

Apart from this, SIA management would be taking salary cuts from July ranging between 10 and 20 percent and the board of directors volunteered to have their fees slashed by 20 percent.