Planes will fly, PAL assures public

Philippine Daily Inquirer
March 29, 2011
By Philip C. Tubeza

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Airlines (PAL) Monday assured the public that contingency measures were in place to “keep its airplanes flying” should its ground crew union go on strike.

PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said flights would continue “on schedule” while all ticket, sales and airport offices would remain open even if the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) goes on strike.

“Our interline airline partners as well as augmentation forces from management are on standby to ensure that our operations are not disrupted in case PALEA members walk out,” Villaluna said in a statement.

She said that PALEA represented only a fraction of PAL’s 7,000-strong work force. The union had said that it could go on strike as early as April 2.

Villaluna warned that a strike, if declared illegal by the authorities, could lead to the forfeiture of the striking workers’ benefits, “including those ordered by the Office of the President.”

PAL issued the warning as it submitted Monday its counter-proposal—which included a wage increase—to a three-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with PALEA.

“In good faith, PAL management fulfilled its commitment to submit today a counter-proposal, proof of management’s sincerity and willingness to open negotiations with PALEA,” said Jose S.L. Uybarreta, PAL vice president for human resources.

“The amounts of P750 for the 1st year, P1,500 for the 2nd year and another P1,500 for the 3rd year are what management believes the company can afford at this time, given the string of massive losses suffered by PAL since 2008,” he said, referring to a pay hike for the workers.

On Friday, Malacañang upheld the decision of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) allowing PAL to outsource three non-core units.

The national flag carrier noted that it was PALEA that had sought the President’s intervention, “and when the decision did not favor them, the union rejects the decision even the additional benefits granted to them.”

Earlier, PAL president Jaime J. Bautista said the outcome of Malacañang’s mediation in the spin-off issue “has a material impact on the next PAL-PALEA CBA.”

In an indignation rally on Mendiola Monday, PALEA members lambasted President Benigno Aquino III and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa for the Palace decision to uphold the PAL outsourcing plan, saying that it would lead to the mass layoff of 2,600 PAL employees.

“In the decision that he penned, Ochoa exposed who the real boss of this government is. It is (PAL owner) Lucio Tan, not the Filipino people. This decision ends the myth of P-Noy’s ‘Kayo ang boss ko’ slogan,” said Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

Rivera said some 200 PALEA members and supporters from PM and the anti-contractualization coalition Kontra assembled at Morayta in Manila and then marched on Mendiola.

They carried placards and streamers saying “Lucio Tan: No. 2 richest Filipino, No. 1 workers’ enemy,” “Sa desisyon ng Malacañang, may bagong mansion ba si Ochoa? (With Malacanang’s decision, will Ochoa have a new mansion)” and “Si Lucio Tan ang boss ko–P-noy (Lucio Tan is my boss–P-noy).”

PALEA said it had started the countdown to its first nationwide strike since the crippling 1998 PAL work stoppage.

The ban on a strike at PAL ends on April 1, seven days after PALEA submitted the results of the strike vote. An overwhelming 95 percent of PALEA members who participated in the strike poll voted yes compared to the 86 percent yes in the strike vote conducted last December.

“In drafting the decision as the little president, Ochoa undermined the Constitution, ILO conventions and the PAL-PALEA CBA which all guaranteed job security and the right to bargain of workers,” Rivera said.

“In the decision, Ochoa found utterly nothing wrong in PAL’s contractualization scheme and he turned a blind eye to all the evidence on PAL’s profitable operations. We will not be surprised if a second glass mansion is the reason behind this decision,” he added. Philip C. Tubeza