Labor department won’t intervene in PAL case

Saturday, 14 August 2010 00:00
By Jomar Canlas Reporter and Darwin G. Amojelar, Senior Reporter
THE MANILA TIMES

THE Department of Labor and Employment on Friday admitted that its hands are tied in connection with a dispute between the management of flag-carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) and the Philippine Airlines Employees Assocation (Palea).
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said that they cannot step into the PAL case since there is no pending labor dispute or case filed before the department.

She added though that they can assist both parties by holding dialogues in the hope of settling disagreements between the PAL management and the workers.

“We cannot intervene right now with PAL because there is no pending case before us. What can we do right now is to assist [the two sides] in their dialogues,” Baldoz said.

The Labor department is brokering preventive mediation talks between the clashing parties before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board .

But the Labor chief pointed out that in the case of the 25 pilots of PAL who resigned, the matter would have to be settled before regular courts.
Baldoz said what Palea is actually seeking before the Labor department is reconsideration of a decision by former Acting Labor Secretary Romeo Lagman  that affirmed PAL management’s prerogative to contract out jobs of its ground crew.

Ready for the worst

Meanwhile, the management of PAL said that they have readied contingency measures if flight attendants and stewards hold a strike that could paralyze the airline’s operations.

In a statement, Jaime Bautista, PAL president and chief operating officer, also on Friday said that they will deploy their administrative staff and other personnel to assist in case of an emergency.

“As part of our conditions of carriage, we commit to our passengers that we will bring them to their destination whether through extra flights or through PAL’s domestic and international interline partners,” he added.

PAL has a total of 134 interline partners—12 airlines in Southeast Asia; 11 in the United States and Canada; 25 in Europe; 12 in the Middle East; three in Japan; and 10 in China.

“In case of flight disruptions, our passengers can rest assured that we can transfer them to these airline partners,” Bautista said.

The Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines’ (Fasap) earlier threatened to hold a strike after it rejected the PAL’s management proposal of a “one-time” P80-million package under a collective bargaining agreement.

“There is a legal process involved which all parties must respect and adhere to, before any lockout or strike can materialize,” Bautista said.
He added that the PAL management continues to talk with the union representatives.

“We believe the negotiating table is still the best venue for resolving differences,” Bautista said.

Bautista added that almost all airlines in the world are concentrating on their core business of flying and operating aircraft.
Most, if not all, he said, have given up non-core businesses and simply engaged the services of third parties that can provide cheaper and more cost-efficient products and services.

According to Bautista, PAL is not engaging in “contractualization” as claimed by its ground crew union.
“PAL is not hiring contractuals. It is selling its catering, ground handling and call-center units to interested third parties who are experts in operating these businesses,” he said.

Bautista added that the more than 2,600 Palea members to be affected by the spin-off will be paid one month’s salary for every year of service rendered.

They also are guaranteed employment by companies who will take over PAL’s catering, ground handling and call-center units.