PAL to abide by DOLE order

Philippine Star
Updated April 04, 2011 12:00 AM
By Rudy Santos

MANILA, Philippines - The management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) said yesterday it would respect a labor department order remanding its labor dispute case with employees to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) for compulsory arbitration.

The PAL management said it is ready to implement contingency measures to prevent disruption of airline operations.

“PAL will follow the DOLE (Department of Labor and   Employment) order, but any illegal action of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) to disrupt airline operations will not be treated lightly,” said PAL president and COO Jaime Bautista.

He said he was informed only on Friday night about the certification order issued by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz remanding the labor dispute case to the NLRC for compulsory arbitration.

Baustista said the airline management is yet to receive an official copy of the order.

Last Friday, PALEA held a pre-strike rally that disrupted traffic near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminals 1 and 2. All scheduled flights, however, pushed through.

Bautista said management was prepared for a worst-case scenario, including the threat of work stoppage by PALEA at midnight of April 2, which did not happen.

“We are ready for any PALEA action because not only do we have contingency measures in place, we also have the commitment of many ground workers that they will not join the strike,” he said.

The union has filed a notice of strike on March 7 but may no longer carry it out because of the order issued by DOLE.

Bautista said PAL lawyers are studying the airline’s legal position when the case is heard by the NLRC.

PALEA president Gerry Rivera had said the union will defy the labor department order, even tearing a copy of it on national television.

“This gesture reveals PALEA’s true nature: that it will not accept or respect anything less than what it wants. I hope government would not allow itself to be held hostage by PALEA’s scare tactics,” Bautista said.

Baldoz said the airline management can file charges of illegal strike against the union if it defies the order.

“It’s their (PAL) decision if they (PALEA) would push through with the planned strike despite our order,” Baldoz said.

She said she certified the labor case to the NLRC to settle the dispute peacefully.

“What we want to provide is an orderly and peaceful way of settling and resolving the dispute so we could protect the riding public,” she said.

Rivera said the union has the right to hold a strike against the airline that he describes as having “the awesome powers of capital.”

“The order has not stopped a strike at PAL. It has merely postponed it to a date that PAL and the government cannot now know in advance,” he said.

The NLRC conducted a series of conciliation talks between the airline and the union but both sides failed to reach an agreement until last Friday, the last day of the strike ban period prescribed by law.

As this develops, Bautista assured passengers that the airline management will regularly issue updates through the media. Passengers may also be informed of any sudden changes in flight schedules. PAL’s reservation hotline may be contacted 24 hours at 855-8888.

They may also log on to www.philippineairlines.com for more information. - with Mayen Jaymalin