The management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) today (24 January 2012) said PAL Chairman Lucio Tan's statement about selling the flag carrier "at the right price" was merely a one-liner, rhetorical response to questions fielded by reporters during an ambush interview over the weekend.
"PAL management is not aware that Mr. Tan is selling any of his shares and what is deemed the 'right price'. Normally, a response of this nature cannot be taken on its face value. It could be subject to various interpretations," said Joey de Guzman, PAL VP for Corporate Communications.
He noted that Tan's off-the-cuff remark on his alleged willingness to sell was conditioned on price. "He didn't say when he wants to sell, how much of his shares he will let go, to whom it will be sold or what the 'right price' is. Clearly, it's not simply about what he said, but what he didn't say," he stressed.
While Tan said he considers Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corporation and Manuel Pangilinan of Metro Pacific as his "friends", the PAL chairman never said he was negotiating with them, he added.
"It's easy for media and other parties to draw conclusions from Mr. Tan's one-line remark, but we believe that talks of any sale are speculative at best," he stressed.
Showing posts with label Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Management. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Monday, October 3, 2011
Transition pains
Philippine Daily Inquirer
October 3, 2011
Philippine Airlines was finally able to implement its long-awaited—but hotly contested—spin off/outsourcing program during the weekend. Surprisingly, it was an uneventful transition as the clock struck midnight of October 1. Earlier, the much-touted “massive rally” by some 300 PAL workers, according to some TV accounts, voluntarily dispersed with no untoward incident.
As of Saturday, airport sources told Biz Buzz that the flag carrier was still reeling from “transition pains” as it operated only about 70 percent, or two-thirds, of its original flight frequencies. The crux of the matter seems to be the lingering manpower shortage of some service providers, which were under orders from the labor department and Malacañang to absorb every single PAL employee to be laid off by the airline company. Trouble is, only few of these retired workers were interested in joining the third-party ground handling and catering companies picked by PAL to do the job. Fortunately, SPi Global, the PLDT-owned call center, didn’t share the same problem as it had enough personnel to handle the airline’s call center reservations function.
Expect PAL operations to slowly return to normal in about a month as the service providers now have a free hand to recruit skilled workers outside the pool of PAL’s retired personnel. In the meantime, it looks like it’s all-systems go for a leaner PAL, which has become a more attractive target for potential buyers/investors. Abangan!—Daxim L. Lucas
October 3, 2011
Philippine Airlines was finally able to implement its long-awaited—but hotly contested—spin off/outsourcing program during the weekend. Surprisingly, it was an uneventful transition as the clock struck midnight of October 1. Earlier, the much-touted “massive rally” by some 300 PAL workers, according to some TV accounts, voluntarily dispersed with no untoward incident.
As of Saturday, airport sources told Biz Buzz that the flag carrier was still reeling from “transition pains” as it operated only about 70 percent, or two-thirds, of its original flight frequencies. The crux of the matter seems to be the lingering manpower shortage of some service providers, which were under orders from the labor department and Malacañang to absorb every single PAL employee to be laid off by the airline company. Trouble is, only few of these retired workers were interested in joining the third-party ground handling and catering companies picked by PAL to do the job. Fortunately, SPi Global, the PLDT-owned call center, didn’t share the same problem as it had enough personnel to handle the airline’s call center reservations function.
Expect PAL operations to slowly return to normal in about a month as the service providers now have a free hand to recruit skilled workers outside the pool of PAL’s retired personnel. In the meantime, it looks like it’s all-systems go for a leaner PAL, which has become a more attractive target for potential buyers/investors. Abangan!—Daxim L. Lucas
PAL says flight traffic back up to 70%
Manila Standard Today
by Eric Apolonio and Vito Barcelo
PHILIPPINE Airlines on Sunday said its operations were slowly returning to normal, and that there was no turning back on its outsourcing program that triggered a strike by its ground workers last week.
Airline president Jaime Bautista said the flights were 70 percent of normal and would be back to normal in the next few weeks.
The flight cancellations on Sunday were down to 46 flights, 28 of them international. Ninety-four flights were able to take off.
“PAL is slowly returning to normalcy,” Bautista said. He acknowledged the help of volunteers from the airline’s administrative staff and third-party service providers who took over the work of the striking ground workers.
He said there was no turning back on the airline’s outsourcing program as he rejected an offer from the company’s former employees to return to work in exchange for keeping their old jobs.
“As of midnight October 1, workers in our catering, ground handling and call center reservations units have ceased to be PAL employees,” Bautista said.
“Hence, they have no right to demand or tell the airline how to run its business.”
Bautista said union officials Gerry Rivera and Bong Palad had also ceased to be PAL employees, and were no longer being recognized by the PAL Employees Association.
“They have no authority to negotiate for and in behalf of PAL workers.” he said.
Bautista says the airline’s management will not recall its former ground workers because of the following reasons:
• The outsourcing is now in full swing. The service providers have taken over the functions of the three departments, and anyone wishing to render work must apply with those providers
• The airline will only take back its former workers if a court orders it to do so
• Some former employees damaged the airline’s equipment during their Sept. 27 wildcat strike, and there is no guarantee they won’t do it again
• Mixing the former PAL workers with the volunteers and service providers poses a grave risk to the the people who worked hard to keep the airline flying.
Bautista said the airline’s service providers were doing their best to hire skilled workers to fill part of the vacuum left by its laid off employees.
“We must understand that they were required by [the Labor Department] and Malacañang to absorb all former PAL employees,” Bautista said.
“Now that these workers have shown that they’re not interested, the service providers are working double-time to recruit the people they need.”
Striking workers continued to camp outside the airline’s In-Flight Center near Terminal 2.
On Sunday, union members in Cebu set up their own protest camp outside the Mactan International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City.
“Instead of going to the mall, eating out or just relaxing at home, [the union] members spent their first Sunday as officially jobless with their spouses and children at the protest camp,” Rivera said.
Family members were among the hundreds of protesters gathered at the protest camp since the strike started.
On Friday, the airline’s chief financial officer, Jose Olives, said PAL was set to draw up to $60 million more from Credit Suisse Bank to finance its working capital for its fiscal year ending March 2012.
“We have already drawn $50 million, the first tranche, in September. We will probably draw the next tranche of $50 million to $60 million in a month or two. There’s a balance of up to $150 million,” he said. With Jeremiah F. de Guzman
by Eric Apolonio and Vito Barcelo
PHILIPPINE Airlines on Sunday said its operations were slowly returning to normal, and that there was no turning back on its outsourcing program that triggered a strike by its ground workers last week.
Airline president Jaime Bautista said the flights were 70 percent of normal and would be back to normal in the next few weeks.
The flight cancellations on Sunday were down to 46 flights, 28 of them international. Ninety-four flights were able to take off.
“PAL is slowly returning to normalcy,” Bautista said. He acknowledged the help of volunteers from the airline’s administrative staff and third-party service providers who took over the work of the striking ground workers.
He said there was no turning back on the airline’s outsourcing program as he rejected an offer from the company’s former employees to return to work in exchange for keeping their old jobs.
“As of midnight October 1, workers in our catering, ground handling and call center reservations units have ceased to be PAL employees,” Bautista said.
“Hence, they have no right to demand or tell the airline how to run its business.”
Bautista said union officials Gerry Rivera and Bong Palad had also ceased to be PAL employees, and were no longer being recognized by the PAL Employees Association.
“They have no authority to negotiate for and in behalf of PAL workers.” he said.
Bautista says the airline’s management will not recall its former ground workers because of the following reasons:
• The outsourcing is now in full swing. The service providers have taken over the functions of the three departments, and anyone wishing to render work must apply with those providers
• The airline will only take back its former workers if a court orders it to do so
• Some former employees damaged the airline’s equipment during their Sept. 27 wildcat strike, and there is no guarantee they won’t do it again
• Mixing the former PAL workers with the volunteers and service providers poses a grave risk to the the people who worked hard to keep the airline flying.
Bautista said the airline’s service providers were doing their best to hire skilled workers to fill part of the vacuum left by its laid off employees.
“We must understand that they were required by [the Labor Department] and Malacañang to absorb all former PAL employees,” Bautista said.
“Now that these workers have shown that they’re not interested, the service providers are working double-time to recruit the people they need.”
Striking workers continued to camp outside the airline’s In-Flight Center near Terminal 2.
On Sunday, union members in Cebu set up their own protest camp outside the Mactan International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City.
“Instead of going to the mall, eating out or just relaxing at home, [the union] members spent their first Sunday as officially jobless with their spouses and children at the protest camp,” Rivera said.
Family members were among the hundreds of protesters gathered at the protest camp since the strike started.
On Friday, the airline’s chief financial officer, Jose Olives, said PAL was set to draw up to $60 million more from Credit Suisse Bank to finance its working capital for its fiscal year ending March 2012.
“We have already drawn $50 million, the first tranche, in September. We will probably draw the next tranche of $50 million to $60 million in a month or two. There’s a balance of up to $150 million,” he said. With Jeremiah F. de Guzman
PAL firm on outsourcing program
Manila Bulletin
By RAYMUND F. ANTONIO and LESLIE ANN AQUINO
October 3, 2011, 4:29am
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Airlines (PAL) management stood pat in its decision Sunday to spin off the non-core businesses and said operations are being slowly normalized.
But PAL said it could take some weeks before operations return to 100 percent normal.
PAL president Jaime Bautista said the flag carrier is determined to see the airline through the difficult transition phase.
"PAL is slowly returning to normalcy,” Bautista said. He added that from the current 70 percent, the airline's flights will be back to pre-strike levels in the next few weeks.
It also ruled out the possibility of the members of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) returning to work, saying they are no longer considered employees of the flag carrier as of Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011.
“As of midnight October 1, workers in our catering, ground handling, and call center reservations units have ceased to be PAL employees. Hence, they have no right to demand or tell the airline how to run its business,” said Bautista, in a statement.
The statement was issued on the heels of PALEA’s offer to go back to work and help normalize the airline’s operations on condition that the management halts its outsourcing program until the Supreme Court (SC) hands down a decision on the matter.
Last Saturday, some 2,600 members of the PALEA were officially terminated from work as PAL management implemented the outsourcing of three non-core businesses of the country’s flag carrier.
By RAYMUND F. ANTONIO and LESLIE ANN AQUINO
October 3, 2011, 4:29am
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Airlines (PAL) management stood pat in its decision Sunday to spin off the non-core businesses and said operations are being slowly normalized.
But PAL said it could take some weeks before operations return to 100 percent normal.
PAL president Jaime Bautista said the flag carrier is determined to see the airline through the difficult transition phase.
"PAL is slowly returning to normalcy,” Bautista said. He added that from the current 70 percent, the airline's flights will be back to pre-strike levels in the next few weeks.
It also ruled out the possibility of the members of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) returning to work, saying they are no longer considered employees of the flag carrier as of Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011.
“As of midnight October 1, workers in our catering, ground handling, and call center reservations units have ceased to be PAL employees. Hence, they have no right to demand or tell the airline how to run its business,” said Bautista, in a statement.
The statement was issued on the heels of PALEA’s offer to go back to work and help normalize the airline’s operations on condition that the management halts its outsourcing program until the Supreme Court (SC) hands down a decision on the matter.
Last Saturday, some 2,600 members of the PALEA were officially terminated from work as PAL management implemented the outsourcing of three non-core businesses of the country’s flag carrier.
Storm at PAL
Philippine Daily Inquirer
2:54 am | Monday, October 3rd, 2011
The wildcat strike at the Philippine Airlines staged at the height of Typhoon “Pedring” more than illustrated the agony of the national flag carrier as it seeks adjustment in a difficult transition that is not only its lot but likewise that of the global airline industry. Last Tuesday, about 300 PAL employees reported for work at Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) but at 7 a.m walked out of their jobs. The company was forced to cancel 172 domestic and international flights, affecting 14,000 passengers. More flights were canceled the following day even though PAL security, police and aviation security, and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) were able to persuade striking Palea workers to yield control of PAL’s check-in terminals, cargo, catering and ramp areas. Aside from canceled flights, there were damaged or disabled pushback tractors, tow tugs and deck loaders, which had been “made inoperable” by the striking workers, a management spokesperson claimed. But the PAL Employees Association (Palea) denied the accusation, blaming the damage on “inexperienced contractual employees” who had replaced the strikers.
The strikes advanced by a few days the separation of some 2,600 employees from service, which was supposed to be on September 30. Last month, PAL sent out notices of termination to employees in its in-flight catering, call center reservations and airport service departments. This followed the affirmation earlier by the Office of the President of PAL’s plan to outsource some of its job requirements as a legal exercise of a “management prerogative” aimed at cutting costs. Palea has challenged in the Court of Appeals the outsourcing plan, calling it union-busting. The management denies this, saying affected employees had been given the termination notice so they could meet the Sept. 9 deadline for them to signify their willingness to be rehired by Sky Kitchen, Sky Logistics and SPi Global Holdings Inc., the three outsourcing companies tapped to handle the operations of PAL’s closed units. The deadline was set by the three companies so they could properly process the employees before they take over the affected PAL departments. But apparently only a few employees signified their willingness to join the outsourcing companies. The three service providers had offered the affected employees a starting salary of about P11,000 a month for six days of work a week, a rate that PAL president Jaime Bautista earlier described as competitive and “within industry standards.” Palea workers enjoy a five-day workweek and are paid more.
It is easy to see how polarized the situation is, with PAL management determined to implement the spinoff to save the airline and bring it to the 21st century, and with the employees just as determined to protect their job security. PAL will spend about P2.5 billion on the severance package. Based on the Oct. 29, 2010 ruling of Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, PAL workers affected by the spinoff would receive the following: separation pay of 125 percent of their basic monthly salary for every year of service; P50,000 gratuity pay; 100 percent commutable-to-cash vacation and sick leaves; and trip pass (travel) benefits. The size of the layoff package should show PAL’s resolve to implement the retrenchment not only for medium-term gains but long-term operational viability. PAL said that the restructuring is vital to the company’s long-term survival, adding that it had to streamline operations to compete with better-funded foreign carriers.
The latest episode indicates the largely troubled transition of the national flag carrier since taipan Lucio Tan bought into PAL in the early 1990s and took over management in the late 1990s. Tan inherited a sprawling and battened PAL bureaucracy that would have been ruled a flight overweight and—in the era of rationalization, downscaling and globalization—would have necessitated the “jettisoning of many parts” so that the airline could take off and be given a fighting chance in a viciously competitive arena. To his credit, Tan managed to stabilize the company and lessened its fat, dealing firmly, for instance, with the pilots who struck 13 years ago when the airline was trying to rationalize the pilots’ salaries and benefits. Early this month, in fact, the Court of Appeals gave PAL the go-signal to proceed with its P730-million damage suit against the pilots who staged a labor strike that crippled the flag carrier’s operations about 13 years ago. But if only because legal justice should be given the chance to sort out the claims and counterclaims of PAL and Palea, PAL should stay the implementation of the spinoff, out of respect for the Court of Appeals. Justice should be given first clearance to take flight.
2:54 am | Monday, October 3rd, 2011
The wildcat strike at the Philippine Airlines staged at the height of Typhoon “Pedring” more than illustrated the agony of the national flag carrier as it seeks adjustment in a difficult transition that is not only its lot but likewise that of the global airline industry. Last Tuesday, about 300 PAL employees reported for work at Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) but at 7 a.m walked out of their jobs. The company was forced to cancel 172 domestic and international flights, affecting 14,000 passengers. More flights were canceled the following day even though PAL security, police and aviation security, and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) were able to persuade striking Palea workers to yield control of PAL’s check-in terminals, cargo, catering and ramp areas. Aside from canceled flights, there were damaged or disabled pushback tractors, tow tugs and deck loaders, which had been “made inoperable” by the striking workers, a management spokesperson claimed. But the PAL Employees Association (Palea) denied the accusation, blaming the damage on “inexperienced contractual employees” who had replaced the strikers.
The strikes advanced by a few days the separation of some 2,600 employees from service, which was supposed to be on September 30. Last month, PAL sent out notices of termination to employees in its in-flight catering, call center reservations and airport service departments. This followed the affirmation earlier by the Office of the President of PAL’s plan to outsource some of its job requirements as a legal exercise of a “management prerogative” aimed at cutting costs. Palea has challenged in the Court of Appeals the outsourcing plan, calling it union-busting. The management denies this, saying affected employees had been given the termination notice so they could meet the Sept. 9 deadline for them to signify their willingness to be rehired by Sky Kitchen, Sky Logistics and SPi Global Holdings Inc., the three outsourcing companies tapped to handle the operations of PAL’s closed units. The deadline was set by the three companies so they could properly process the employees before they take over the affected PAL departments. But apparently only a few employees signified their willingness to join the outsourcing companies. The three service providers had offered the affected employees a starting salary of about P11,000 a month for six days of work a week, a rate that PAL president Jaime Bautista earlier described as competitive and “within industry standards.” Palea workers enjoy a five-day workweek and are paid more.
It is easy to see how polarized the situation is, with PAL management determined to implement the spinoff to save the airline and bring it to the 21st century, and with the employees just as determined to protect their job security. PAL will spend about P2.5 billion on the severance package. Based on the Oct. 29, 2010 ruling of Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, PAL workers affected by the spinoff would receive the following: separation pay of 125 percent of their basic monthly salary for every year of service; P50,000 gratuity pay; 100 percent commutable-to-cash vacation and sick leaves; and trip pass (travel) benefits. The size of the layoff package should show PAL’s resolve to implement the retrenchment not only for medium-term gains but long-term operational viability. PAL said that the restructuring is vital to the company’s long-term survival, adding that it had to streamline operations to compete with better-funded foreign carriers.
The latest episode indicates the largely troubled transition of the national flag carrier since taipan Lucio Tan bought into PAL in the early 1990s and took over management in the late 1990s. Tan inherited a sprawling and battened PAL bureaucracy that would have been ruled a flight overweight and—in the era of rationalization, downscaling and globalization—would have necessitated the “jettisoning of many parts” so that the airline could take off and be given a fighting chance in a viciously competitive arena. To his credit, Tan managed to stabilize the company and lessened its fat, dealing firmly, for instance, with the pilots who struck 13 years ago when the airline was trying to rationalize the pilots’ salaries and benefits. Early this month, in fact, the Court of Appeals gave PAL the go-signal to proceed with its P730-million damage suit against the pilots who staged a labor strike that crippled the flag carrier’s operations about 13 years ago. But if only because legal justice should be given the chance to sort out the claims and counterclaims of PAL and Palea, PAL should stay the implementation of the spinoff, out of respect for the Court of Appeals. Justice should be given first clearance to take flight.
PAL operations to normalize soon
Manila Bulletin
By EDU LOPEZ
October 3, 2011, 2:48am
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Airlines (PAL)is expected to return to normal operations within a month after its designated service providers 'Sky Logistics, Sky Kitchen and SPi Global' formally take over the airline’s ground-handling, catering and call-center reservations functions, respectively.
The airline has deployed a corps of trained management volunteers to handle these functions during the transition period to the service providers.
“PAL apologizes to the passengers for the inconvenience caused by the flight cancellations and unexpected delays,” PAL said.
The airline was operating a reduced schedule of flights on Wednesday as it reported that certain ground equipment were damaged by striking workers of the flag carrier’s groundcrew union.
PAL also called in traffic enforcers after members of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) held a protest rally infront of PAL’s Inflight Center.
This caused further flight delays and compounded the airline’s efforts to normalize operations a day after the union staged a wildcat strike at PAL’s NAIA Terminal 2 hub.
“Despite our best efforts to restore normalcy at NAIA Terminal 2, it is unfortunate that the union still persists in hampering our airport operations and preventing the delivery of service to our passengers,” PAL said.
Although operations slightly improved, a total of 64 domestic and 40 international flights were cancelled on Wednesday due to manpower shortage even as hundreds of PAL volunteers stepped in to perform check-in, ramp and catering functions.
Meanwhile, PAL operated 18 regular international flights and 18 domestic flights on Wednesday. It has also deployed a special flight from Haneda airport in Tokyo to Manila, carrying Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III and his party after a working visit to Japan.
By EDU LOPEZ
October 3, 2011, 2:48am
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Airlines (PAL)is expected to return to normal operations within a month after its designated service providers 'Sky Logistics, Sky Kitchen and SPi Global' formally take over the airline’s ground-handling, catering and call-center reservations functions, respectively.
The airline has deployed a corps of trained management volunteers to handle these functions during the transition period to the service providers.
“PAL apologizes to the passengers for the inconvenience caused by the flight cancellations and unexpected delays,” PAL said.
The airline was operating a reduced schedule of flights on Wednesday as it reported that certain ground equipment were damaged by striking workers of the flag carrier’s groundcrew union.
PAL also called in traffic enforcers after members of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) held a protest rally infront of PAL’s Inflight Center.
This caused further flight delays and compounded the airline’s efforts to normalize operations a day after the union staged a wildcat strike at PAL’s NAIA Terminal 2 hub.
“Despite our best efforts to restore normalcy at NAIA Terminal 2, it is unfortunate that the union still persists in hampering our airport operations and preventing the delivery of service to our passengers,” PAL said.
Although operations slightly improved, a total of 64 domestic and 40 international flights were cancelled on Wednesday due to manpower shortage even as hundreds of PAL volunteers stepped in to perform check-in, ramp and catering functions.
Meanwhile, PAL operated 18 regular international flights and 18 domestic flights on Wednesday. It has also deployed a special flight from Haneda airport in Tokyo to Manila, carrying Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III and his party after a working visit to Japan.
PAL won't take back strikers
The Philippine Star
By Mayen Jaymalin
October 03, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Airlines (PAL) yesterday rejected the offer of striking ground employees to return to work and end the labor dispute.
PAL president Jaime Bautista said “there is no turning back” and the airline company is determined to fully implement its outsourcing program.
“PAL is slowly returning to normalcy, thanks to the selfless dedication of our administrative volunteers and the help of our service providers,” Bautista said in a statement.
Bautista then assured the public that from the current 70 percent, the airline’s flights will be back to pre-strike levels in the next few weeks.
“As of midnight October 1, the workers in the catering, ground handling and call center reservations units have ceased to be PAL employees. Hence, they have no right to demand or tell the airline how to run its business,” Bautista said.
Bautista also said that PAL Employees Association (PALEA) officials Gerry Rivera and Bong Palad have also ceased to be PAL employees and are therefore no longer recognized by PAL as leaders of the union.
“They have no authority to negotiate for and in behalf of PAL workers,” Bautista said, adding that PAL management has other reasons why it won’t recall former workers.
According to Bautista, the outsourcing program is already in full swing and service providers have taken over the functions of the three departments.
“Anyone who wishes to render work must apply with these providers and PAL will only take back its former workers if there is a court order mandating it to do so; so far, there is none,” he said.
Bautista said the striking PAL workers caused damage to the airline company’s equipment during their Sept. 27 wildcat strike.
“Mixing former PAL workers with volunteers and service providers poses grave risk to the men and women who have worked so hard to keep the airline flying. It would be most unfair to expose them to possible harassment and physical harm,” Bautista said.
At this time, Bautista said PAL’s service providers are exerting their best effort to hire skilled workers to fill part of the vacuum left by its former personnel.
“We must understand that they were required by DOLE and Malacañang to absorb all former PAL employees. Now that these workers have shown that they are not interested, the service providers are working double-time to recruit the people they need,” he said.
As this developed, retrenched PAL employees have intensified their protest. They have set up camp outside the Mactan International Airport in Cebu and held a family day in their protest camp in Manila.
“Instead of going to the mall, eating out or just relaxing at home, PALEA members spent their first Sunday as officially jobless with their spouses and children at the protest camp,” Rivera said.
Rivera said the protest action against the outsourcing program has already spread globally with Qantas ground crew in Australia going on strike over grievances that include lack of job security.
Meanwhile, among the complaints that triggered strikes in Europe is job insecurity while in New York, workers are demanding regular employment.
By Mayen Jaymalin
October 03, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Airlines (PAL) yesterday rejected the offer of striking ground employees to return to work and end the labor dispute.
PAL president Jaime Bautista said “there is no turning back” and the airline company is determined to fully implement its outsourcing program.
“PAL is slowly returning to normalcy, thanks to the selfless dedication of our administrative volunteers and the help of our service providers,” Bautista said in a statement.
Bautista then assured the public that from the current 70 percent, the airline’s flights will be back to pre-strike levels in the next few weeks.
“As of midnight October 1, the workers in the catering, ground handling and call center reservations units have ceased to be PAL employees. Hence, they have no right to demand or tell the airline how to run its business,” Bautista said.
Bautista also said that PAL Employees Association (PALEA) officials Gerry Rivera and Bong Palad have also ceased to be PAL employees and are therefore no longer recognized by PAL as leaders of the union.
“They have no authority to negotiate for and in behalf of PAL workers,” Bautista said, adding that PAL management has other reasons why it won’t recall former workers.
According to Bautista, the outsourcing program is already in full swing and service providers have taken over the functions of the three departments.
“Anyone who wishes to render work must apply with these providers and PAL will only take back its former workers if there is a court order mandating it to do so; so far, there is none,” he said.
Bautista said the striking PAL workers caused damage to the airline company’s equipment during their Sept. 27 wildcat strike.
“Mixing former PAL workers with volunteers and service providers poses grave risk to the men and women who have worked so hard to keep the airline flying. It would be most unfair to expose them to possible harassment and physical harm,” Bautista said.
At this time, Bautista said PAL’s service providers are exerting their best effort to hire skilled workers to fill part of the vacuum left by its former personnel.
“We must understand that they were required by DOLE and Malacañang to absorb all former PAL employees. Now that these workers have shown that they are not interested, the service providers are working double-time to recruit the people they need,” he said.
As this developed, retrenched PAL employees have intensified their protest. They have set up camp outside the Mactan International Airport in Cebu and held a family day in their protest camp in Manila.
“Instead of going to the mall, eating out or just relaxing at home, PALEA members spent their first Sunday as officially jobless with their spouses and children at the protest camp,” Rivera said.
Rivera said the protest action against the outsourcing program has already spread globally with Qantas ground crew in Australia going on strike over grievances that include lack of job security.
Meanwhile, among the complaints that triggered strikes in Europe is job insecurity while in New York, workers are demanding regular employment.
The saga of PAL - our national flag carrier
The Philippine Star
AS A MATTER OF FACT
By Sara Soliven De Guzman
October 03, 2011 12:00 AM
On PAL: In 1997, Lucio Tan bought the Philippine Airlines, which was already on the brink of closing down. After pouring in a substantial capital, he was able to sustain the airline’s needs. However, a year after PAL experienced its first major crisis. I remember in 1998 when I was in Germany with my parents and about to go back to the Philippines on a PAL flight, we found ourselves stuck at the airport. The Airline Pilots Association of PAL staged a terrible strike. During that time PAL was about to fire 250 ALPAP strikers who defied a government return-to-work order. By the way, PAL won a ruling from the Court of Appeals to pursue a P730 million damage lawsuit against the Airline Pilots Association of the Philippines (ALPAP) in connection with the 1998 pilots’ strike that stopped the airline’s operations and left thousands of passengers stranded overseas. In 2010, PALEA held another rally at the DOLE to protest the decision of then Acting Labor Secretary Romeo Lagman who declared PAL mass layoff to be a “valid exercise of management prerogative.” Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) vice-chairperson, insisted that there are no sufficient bases for retrenchment. Retrenchment is a measure of last resort which should only be undertaken in case of serious and imminent losses. A close review of the financial statements and disclosures of PAL reveals that its business condition is improving and not deteriorating, and does not therefore negate the necessity for retrenchment.
Well, that’s history and now PAL is challenged again with another strike. Early this September PAL obtained the $50 million line of credit from Credit Suisse to fund most of its planned spin-off for its catering, reservations and ground service divisions. The bulk of the money will be used to pay the severance package offered to about 2,400 PAL workers who have been laid off by the move. This outsourcing program is said to restructure and make the airline leaner and more competitive in the long term.
Last Tuesday, thousands of passengers were stranded at the NAIA Terminal 2 after PAL employees staged a walkout in protest of the airline’s outsourcing of the management of airport services. I know a strike is a strike and PALEA needed to get the attention of the PAL management. But I guess they decided to do things in haste.
The PAL ground crew and cabin crew strike came as a double whammy for the PAL management. Not only did they have to contend with the strikers, the weather compounded the problem as well. Why? All the passengers wanted to get home but the cabin crew and the ground crew kept them inside the airplane for hours making the passengers so mad. Just imagine a cage full of ‘angry birds’ wanting to get out.
I had some friends in the ‘affected’ flights texting me. They said that the cabin crew announced that they were having a strike and so all passengers must do self-service. Upon reaching the tarmac, no ground crew opened the doors right away. I’m just so glad no one had an anxiety attack that could have easily led into a heart attack. Staying inside an airplane for about two hours and even more can be dangerous for health reasons that is. As a matter fact, it was like a hostage taking event without guns. Why involve the passengers in your fight?
Upon disembarkation passengers waited for their luggage for hours because the ground crew wouldn’t budge. Susmariosep!
I’m pretty sure Lucio Tan wants to clean up (he doesn’t need this headache) as soon as possible so that he can sell PAL to a new owner. But any businessman interested to buy will always want to make sure that everything is free from internal problems. This includes the complex labor problems PAL currently faces.
The present pronouncements of the management on outsourcing and allegedly removing benefits which personnel have long enjoyed have brought about panic among the workers that led to disruption of public service and on a broader scale – a bad thing for the tourism industry as well.
P-Noy’s careless statement about accusing the worker’s action as an “economic sabotage” must be retracted. He is our President and any president of a country or leader for that matter must always be on the neutral ground. The government has the responsibility to show the citizens that they are honest brokers. They must protect the basic rights of the workers.
P-Noy must study the problem carefully and make sure all workers get what is rightfully theirs before he can say that they did wrong. What about PAL management? Did they do the right thing?
At the end of the day, both parties (ground/cabin crew and management) must reach a compromise. They must make things work.
My alikabok tells me that some people in PAL claim that in two weeks time, the problem will stabilize. As for now PAL is getting people to fill-up the empty positions. Many are retired PAL personnel who have gotten their full benefits already and will work as outsourced personnel. PAL is allegedly filing criminal liabilities to the strikers and I think they also have terminated many of its crew and ground staff.
Here’s hoping that the PAL saga will end soon. Let us pray that our national flag carrier gets its strong wings back and be able to fly high again!
AS A MATTER OF FACT
By Sara Soliven De Guzman
October 03, 2011 12:00 AM
On PAL: In 1997, Lucio Tan bought the Philippine Airlines, which was already on the brink of closing down. After pouring in a substantial capital, he was able to sustain the airline’s needs. However, a year after PAL experienced its first major crisis. I remember in 1998 when I was in Germany with my parents and about to go back to the Philippines on a PAL flight, we found ourselves stuck at the airport. The Airline Pilots Association of PAL staged a terrible strike. During that time PAL was about to fire 250 ALPAP strikers who defied a government return-to-work order. By the way, PAL won a ruling from the Court of Appeals to pursue a P730 million damage lawsuit against the Airline Pilots Association of the Philippines (ALPAP) in connection with the 1998 pilots’ strike that stopped the airline’s operations and left thousands of passengers stranded overseas. In 2010, PALEA held another rally at the DOLE to protest the decision of then Acting Labor Secretary Romeo Lagman who declared PAL mass layoff to be a “valid exercise of management prerogative.” Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) vice-chairperson, insisted that there are no sufficient bases for retrenchment. Retrenchment is a measure of last resort which should only be undertaken in case of serious and imminent losses. A close review of the financial statements and disclosures of PAL reveals that its business condition is improving and not deteriorating, and does not therefore negate the necessity for retrenchment.
Well, that’s history and now PAL is challenged again with another strike. Early this September PAL obtained the $50 million line of credit from Credit Suisse to fund most of its planned spin-off for its catering, reservations and ground service divisions. The bulk of the money will be used to pay the severance package offered to about 2,400 PAL workers who have been laid off by the move. This outsourcing program is said to restructure and make the airline leaner and more competitive in the long term.
Last Tuesday, thousands of passengers were stranded at the NAIA Terminal 2 after PAL employees staged a walkout in protest of the airline’s outsourcing of the management of airport services. I know a strike is a strike and PALEA needed to get the attention of the PAL management. But I guess they decided to do things in haste.
The PAL ground crew and cabin crew strike came as a double whammy for the PAL management. Not only did they have to contend with the strikers, the weather compounded the problem as well. Why? All the passengers wanted to get home but the cabin crew and the ground crew kept them inside the airplane for hours making the passengers so mad. Just imagine a cage full of ‘angry birds’ wanting to get out.
I had some friends in the ‘affected’ flights texting me. They said that the cabin crew announced that they were having a strike and so all passengers must do self-service. Upon reaching the tarmac, no ground crew opened the doors right away. I’m just so glad no one had an anxiety attack that could have easily led into a heart attack. Staying inside an airplane for about two hours and even more can be dangerous for health reasons that is. As a matter fact, it was like a hostage taking event without guns. Why involve the passengers in your fight?
Upon disembarkation passengers waited for their luggage for hours because the ground crew wouldn’t budge. Susmariosep!
I’m pretty sure Lucio Tan wants to clean up (he doesn’t need this headache) as soon as possible so that he can sell PAL to a new owner. But any businessman interested to buy will always want to make sure that everything is free from internal problems. This includes the complex labor problems PAL currently faces.
The present pronouncements of the management on outsourcing and allegedly removing benefits which personnel have long enjoyed have brought about panic among the workers that led to disruption of public service and on a broader scale – a bad thing for the tourism industry as well.
P-Noy’s careless statement about accusing the worker’s action as an “economic sabotage” must be retracted. He is our President and any president of a country or leader for that matter must always be on the neutral ground. The government has the responsibility to show the citizens that they are honest brokers. They must protect the basic rights of the workers.
P-Noy must study the problem carefully and make sure all workers get what is rightfully theirs before he can say that they did wrong. What about PAL management? Did they do the right thing?
At the end of the day, both parties (ground/cabin crew and management) must reach a compromise. They must make things work.
My alikabok tells me that some people in PAL claim that in two weeks time, the problem will stabilize. As for now PAL is getting people to fill-up the empty positions. Many are retired PAL personnel who have gotten their full benefits already and will work as outsourced personnel. PAL is allegedly filing criminal liabilities to the strikers and I think they also have terminated many of its crew and ground staff.
Here’s hoping that the PAL saga will end soon. Let us pray that our national flag carrier gets its strong wings back and be able to fly high again!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Editorial: When striking workers get no sympathy
Business Mirror
SUNDAY, 02 OCTOBER 2011 20:29
IF the striking and soon-to-be (if not already) jobless workers of the PAL Employees Association (Palea) wanted some sympathy for their cause from the public and the government, then the 11th-hour strike they staged on Tuesday was the wrong way to go about it.
We have no argument against the right to strike, which is guaranteed by both the Labor Code and the Constitution. Union workers are free to take any peaceful steps to try to accomplish their objectives. They can hold rallies, picket lines and strikes. They can try to persuade their employers to give in to their demands by any lawful means. They can even ask consumers not to patronize or to boycott their company.
We agree that the right to strike is, at times, not only necessary but the only way workers can publicize their labor dispute and engage the help of the government and the public to their cause.
But while we do not take it against Palea to hold protest actions against PAL for the airline’s decision to close down and contract out essential activities that would render 2,600 of its members jobless, we also cannot agree with the manner it did so on Tuesday.
Striking is one thing but where, how and when it is conducted is another matter. When the strike compromises not only the convenience but the very safety of the public then it is not only objectionable but simply wrong, because such actions already interfere with the rights of others as provided by law (like the right to life, the right to travel).
Last Tuesday some 300 members of Palea, the flag carrier’s union of reservation clerks, maintenance crew, caterers, cargo handlers and load controllers, abandoned their posts at about 7 a.m., thereby stranding hundreds of departing and arriving passengers, even as Typhoon Pedring was raging outside the Centennial Airport Terminal 2, and battering not only Metro Manila but a large swathe of Luzon.
In the story he filed, our veteran aviation reporter Recto Mercene said scores of local and international flights were unable to take off, while a similar number of just-arrived airplanes were marooned on the tarmac, with their pilots unable to park properly after Palea members deserted their jobs.
The airplanes were unable to proceed to their proper parking berths due to the absence of ramp marshals—persons who direct the pilots to avoid collision with other aircraft or objects on the ground not visible in the cockpit.
Palea members even argued and had a scuffle with personnel of the Airport Ground Operations Division who tried to guide the stranded pilots to their parking berths so that the taxiways and ramp areas are not filled with stranded aircraft.
Typhoon Pedring was already posing enough dangers as it was, couldn’t Palea members have postponed their protest actions for another day for the sake of public safety? At a time when people were dying and billions in damage was being lost due to the storm, couldn’t Palea members have set aside their personal concerns for job security to ensure the security of airline travelers so as not to add to the nation’s woes?
If some of the bus and jeepney unions can hold off their strikes on an otherwise ordinary day just to accommodate commuters at the government’s request, why couldn’t Palea do the same for their customers when a storm was raging?
Palea officials tried to justify what they did by saying their backs were against the wall. They said they never agreed to hold protest actions as Typhoon Pedring neared Luzon. They even dared PAL management and the President to sue them for what they did. “We are not stupid. We know the law,” they said. They don’t get it. This is not just about the law. They didn’t need to be asked to postpone their strike. When lives are at risk, when there’s a storm raging, you put personal concerns aside for the common good. As airline workers—and they were still airline workers at the time—the striking Palea members had a responsibility to protect their travelers first. And yet they intentionally put the people they were supposed to serve in harm’s way—for what? So their protest actions could have maximum impact? It’s a good thing their irresponsible actions did not result in a tragic accident that could have cost lives that Tuesday.
Again, if they wanted sympathy for their cause, they didn’t get it. They could have won over more support had they simply done their duties on a day when they were needed most. People would have seen that small sacrifice as heroic. Instead, they saw a Palea strike that was both petulant and gratuitous.
SUNDAY, 02 OCTOBER 2011 20:29
IF the striking and soon-to-be (if not already) jobless workers of the PAL Employees Association (Palea) wanted some sympathy for their cause from the public and the government, then the 11th-hour strike they staged on Tuesday was the wrong way to go about it.
We have no argument against the right to strike, which is guaranteed by both the Labor Code and the Constitution. Union workers are free to take any peaceful steps to try to accomplish their objectives. They can hold rallies, picket lines and strikes. They can try to persuade their employers to give in to their demands by any lawful means. They can even ask consumers not to patronize or to boycott their company.
We agree that the right to strike is, at times, not only necessary but the only way workers can publicize their labor dispute and engage the help of the government and the public to their cause.
But while we do not take it against Palea to hold protest actions against PAL for the airline’s decision to close down and contract out essential activities that would render 2,600 of its members jobless, we also cannot agree with the manner it did so on Tuesday.
Striking is one thing but where, how and when it is conducted is another matter. When the strike compromises not only the convenience but the very safety of the public then it is not only objectionable but simply wrong, because such actions already interfere with the rights of others as provided by law (like the right to life, the right to travel).
Last Tuesday some 300 members of Palea, the flag carrier’s union of reservation clerks, maintenance crew, caterers, cargo handlers and load controllers, abandoned their posts at about 7 a.m., thereby stranding hundreds of departing and arriving passengers, even as Typhoon Pedring was raging outside the Centennial Airport Terminal 2, and battering not only Metro Manila but a large swathe of Luzon.
In the story he filed, our veteran aviation reporter Recto Mercene said scores of local and international flights were unable to take off, while a similar number of just-arrived airplanes were marooned on the tarmac, with their pilots unable to park properly after Palea members deserted their jobs.
The airplanes were unable to proceed to their proper parking berths due to the absence of ramp marshals—persons who direct the pilots to avoid collision with other aircraft or objects on the ground not visible in the cockpit.
Palea members even argued and had a scuffle with personnel of the Airport Ground Operations Division who tried to guide the stranded pilots to their parking berths so that the taxiways and ramp areas are not filled with stranded aircraft.
Typhoon Pedring was already posing enough dangers as it was, couldn’t Palea members have postponed their protest actions for another day for the sake of public safety? At a time when people were dying and billions in damage was being lost due to the storm, couldn’t Palea members have set aside their personal concerns for job security to ensure the security of airline travelers so as not to add to the nation’s woes?
If some of the bus and jeepney unions can hold off their strikes on an otherwise ordinary day just to accommodate commuters at the government’s request, why couldn’t Palea do the same for their customers when a storm was raging?
Palea officials tried to justify what they did by saying their backs were against the wall. They said they never agreed to hold protest actions as Typhoon Pedring neared Luzon. They even dared PAL management and the President to sue them for what they did. “We are not stupid. We know the law,” they said. They don’t get it. This is not just about the law. They didn’t need to be asked to postpone their strike. When lives are at risk, when there’s a storm raging, you put personal concerns aside for the common good. As airline workers—and they were still airline workers at the time—the striking Palea members had a responsibility to protect their travelers first. And yet they intentionally put the people they were supposed to serve in harm’s way—for what? So their protest actions could have maximum impact? It’s a good thing their irresponsible actions did not result in a tragic accident that could have cost lives that Tuesday.
Again, if they wanted sympathy for their cause, they didn’t get it. They could have won over more support had they simply done their duties on a day when they were needed most. People would have seen that small sacrifice as heroic. Instead, they saw a Palea strike that was both petulant and gratuitous.
Who is now to blame
The Philippine Star
October 2, 2011
Philippine Airlines (PAL)’s outsourcing/spin-off of three of its non-core units, namely catering, ground handling, and reservations began yesterday, albeit on a difficult note.
It will be recalled that Malacañang ordered the third-party service providers to absorb the 2,400 employees of PAL that will be affected by the outsourcing program. Unfortunately, only one-fourth agreed to be absorbed.
So around 600 former PAL employees, together with 500 volunteers, undertook the task of reviving PAL’s operations, which for four days was hampered by the refusal of PAL’s striking employees to return to work.
The PAL Employees Association (PALEA) members’ refusal to work forced management to cancel flights for more than 16 hours at the start of the strike last Tuesday, inconveniencing more than 14,000 PAL passengers and resulting in losses for the company. This does not include the millions of dollars PAL lost as a result of PALEA’s illegal acts.
And because only around 1,000 or so employees are currently doing the work of 2,400 people, not to mention the still damaged equipment, PAL has only managed to restore to normalcy 60 percent of its operations.
So while PAL is slowly but surely rising from the ashes, the problems have just started for the striking PAL employees.
We’ve learned that PAL has hired top-notch lawyers to file the appropriate administrative, civil as well as criminal cases against these employees, who have allegedly violated a number of laws, rules and regulations.
Some of these employees in fact reportedly felt betrayed by their union leaders for getting the situation they are in. When the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ruled in favor of PAL in its outsourcing bid, what the union should have done is bargain for better terms for the affected employees. What the union did instead was to go to Malacanang, which improved the package for the employees but only slightly.
PAL president Jimmy Bautista said last Friday that the time for negotiation has long passed, noting that he invited PALEA to a dialogue after the Office of the President threw out their petition seeking to invalidate PAL’s outsourcing plan.
PALEA members only have their intransigent leaders to blame for their current predicament, Bautista added.
Worse, the strikers cannot expect to get any sympathy from the public after having inconvenienced thousands of stranded passengers.
October 2, 2011
Philippine Airlines (PAL)’s outsourcing/spin-off of three of its non-core units, namely catering, ground handling, and reservations began yesterday, albeit on a difficult note.
It will be recalled that Malacañang ordered the third-party service providers to absorb the 2,400 employees of PAL that will be affected by the outsourcing program. Unfortunately, only one-fourth agreed to be absorbed.
So around 600 former PAL employees, together with 500 volunteers, undertook the task of reviving PAL’s operations, which for four days was hampered by the refusal of PAL’s striking employees to return to work.
The PAL Employees Association (PALEA) members’ refusal to work forced management to cancel flights for more than 16 hours at the start of the strike last Tuesday, inconveniencing more than 14,000 PAL passengers and resulting in losses for the company. This does not include the millions of dollars PAL lost as a result of PALEA’s illegal acts.
And because only around 1,000 or so employees are currently doing the work of 2,400 people, not to mention the still damaged equipment, PAL has only managed to restore to normalcy 60 percent of its operations.
So while PAL is slowly but surely rising from the ashes, the problems have just started for the striking PAL employees.
We’ve learned that PAL has hired top-notch lawyers to file the appropriate administrative, civil as well as criminal cases against these employees, who have allegedly violated a number of laws, rules and regulations.
Some of these employees in fact reportedly felt betrayed by their union leaders for getting the situation they are in. When the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ruled in favor of PAL in its outsourcing bid, what the union should have done is bargain for better terms for the affected employees. What the union did instead was to go to Malacanang, which improved the package for the employees but only slightly.
PAL president Jimmy Bautista said last Friday that the time for negotiation has long passed, noting that he invited PALEA to a dialogue after the Office of the President threw out their petition seeking to invalidate PAL’s outsourcing plan.
PALEA members only have their intransigent leaders to blame for their current predicament, Bautista added.
Worse, the strikers cannot expect to get any sympathy from the public after having inconvenienced thousands of stranded passengers.
Palace defends decision to stop airport protests
The Philippine Star
By Aurea Calica
October 02, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang defended yesterday the decision of airport authorities to stop the protests held inside the facility.
“What the government is after is the security of the airport and the safety of the passengers and again, we’d like to appeal to Philippine Airlines (PAL) to normalize their operations as early as possible,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing.
“We would ask all parties to be level-headed and come up with a resolution to this impasse,” he said.
Lacierda also said there was no decision if charges would be filed against the workers who held a strike despite an earlier agreement with PAL management and mediators that they would not hold any work stoppage.
He said the strikers were not allowed to disrupt airport services and thus were asked to move out.
“The purpose for that is to make sure that the security of the airport is guaranteed more than anything else. It is a public place and considering that they – the PALEA employees involved – were not only (manning the) ticketing counter but also those handling areas which are sensitive in nature. For instance, luggage handling, those that we do not see in the frontline. So our concern is for the security of the airport. So that is the primary purpose of the actions taken by the MIAA (Manila International Airport Authority) management,” Lacierda said.
He said he could not see any violation of the rights of the strikers.
“We respect their right to air their grievances. We respect their right to voice out but we also would like to ask them to strike in the proper places. This is a time and regulation situation. We cannot allow all the passengers to be affected and the economy is being gravely affected by that,” he said. – With Rudy Santos
By Aurea Calica
October 02, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang defended yesterday the decision of airport authorities to stop the protests held inside the facility.
“What the government is after is the security of the airport and the safety of the passengers and again, we’d like to appeal to Philippine Airlines (PAL) to normalize their operations as early as possible,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing.
“We would ask all parties to be level-headed and come up with a resolution to this impasse,” he said.
Lacierda also said there was no decision if charges would be filed against the workers who held a strike despite an earlier agreement with PAL management and mediators that they would not hold any work stoppage.
He said the strikers were not allowed to disrupt airport services and thus were asked to move out.
“The purpose for that is to make sure that the security of the airport is guaranteed more than anything else. It is a public place and considering that they – the PALEA employees involved – were not only (manning the) ticketing counter but also those handling areas which are sensitive in nature. For instance, luggage handling, those that we do not see in the frontline. So our concern is for the security of the airport. So that is the primary purpose of the actions taken by the MIAA (Manila International Airport Authority) management,” Lacierda said.
He said he could not see any violation of the rights of the strikers.
“We respect their right to air their grievances. We respect their right to voice out but we also would like to ask them to strike in the proper places. This is a time and regulation situation. We cannot allow all the passengers to be affected and the economy is being gravely affected by that,” he said. – With Rudy Santos
Saturday, October 1, 2011
PAL shuts door on further talks with union
Manila Standard Today
October 1, 2011
PHILIPPINE Airlines on Friday defended the implementation of its outsourcing program, saying the company was well within its rights to restructure operations to ensure the airline’s survival and to save the jobs of its 5,000 remaining employees.
The program’s critics were harping on the layoff of 2,400 ground workers, but were turning a blind eye on the 5,000 office staff, cabin crew and the pilots that the carrier was trying to save, airline president Jaime Bautista said in a statement.
“The law is on our side,” Bautista said.
“We’re implementing the outsourcing program not on mere whim or caprice, but on the basis of legal and valid orders from the Department of Labor and Employment and the Office of the President. We’re doing it to save the airline from financial ruin.”
Bautista made the statement as the members of the Philippine Airline Employees Association protested at the airport on the last day of work for the 2,600 ground crew.
The group challenged the management to open talks to resolve its dispute with it in the face of the continuing flight disruptions.
“It is clear as day that the outsourcing plan is a failure, and PAL does not have the manpower to normalize its operations,” group president Gerry Rivera said.
“We call on PAL to end the lockout of its employees and halt the premature implementation of the outsourcing plan pending the final decision of the courts.”
But Bautista said the management would not return to the negotiation table.
“The [Labor Department] and the President have spoken,” he said.
“[The union] has filed their appeal with the appellate court. Let’s just wait for the [court’s] action on this matter. We have nothing more to talk about. The time for diplomacy is long over, especially after the union’s wildcat strike.”
Meanwhile, Bautista said the airline was looking at another loss in the quarter ending in September as a result of high fuel prices and lower passenger demand for seats.
“The second quarter is always a losing [one] because this is a lean season,” he said.
The airline reported a net loss of $10.6 million in the quarter to March compared with a profit of $31.6 million the year before.
Fuel makes up 45 percent of the airline’s operating expenses, and fuel costs went up by 36 percent to $210.8 million. Jet fuel prices averaged $138.11 a barrel in the quarter to June this year against $100.47 a barrel in the comparable quarter last year.
Bautista said the flight cancellations resulting from the ground crew’s wildcat strike would also affect the bottomline.
“It will take a few days before we can normalize operations,” he said.
“Hopefully, the second half will be [profitable] since the third and the fourth quarter are usually profitable seasons.”
Eric B. Apolonio, Vito Barcelo, Jeremiah F. de Guzman
October 1, 2011
PHILIPPINE Airlines on Friday defended the implementation of its outsourcing program, saying the company was well within its rights to restructure operations to ensure the airline’s survival and to save the jobs of its 5,000 remaining employees.
The program’s critics were harping on the layoff of 2,400 ground workers, but were turning a blind eye on the 5,000 office staff, cabin crew and the pilots that the carrier was trying to save, airline president Jaime Bautista said in a statement.
“The law is on our side,” Bautista said.
“We’re implementing the outsourcing program not on mere whim or caprice, but on the basis of legal and valid orders from the Department of Labor and Employment and the Office of the President. We’re doing it to save the airline from financial ruin.”
Bautista made the statement as the members of the Philippine Airline Employees Association protested at the airport on the last day of work for the 2,600 ground crew.
The group challenged the management to open talks to resolve its dispute with it in the face of the continuing flight disruptions.
“It is clear as day that the outsourcing plan is a failure, and PAL does not have the manpower to normalize its operations,” group president Gerry Rivera said.
“We call on PAL to end the lockout of its employees and halt the premature implementation of the outsourcing plan pending the final decision of the courts.”
But Bautista said the management would not return to the negotiation table.
“The [Labor Department] and the President have spoken,” he said.
“[The union] has filed their appeal with the appellate court. Let’s just wait for the [court’s] action on this matter. We have nothing more to talk about. The time for diplomacy is long over, especially after the union’s wildcat strike.”
Meanwhile, Bautista said the airline was looking at another loss in the quarter ending in September as a result of high fuel prices and lower passenger demand for seats.
“The second quarter is always a losing [one] because this is a lean season,” he said.
The airline reported a net loss of $10.6 million in the quarter to March compared with a profit of $31.6 million the year before.
Fuel makes up 45 percent of the airline’s operating expenses, and fuel costs went up by 36 percent to $210.8 million. Jet fuel prices averaged $138.11 a barrel in the quarter to June this year against $100.47 a barrel in the comparable quarter last year.
Bautista said the flight cancellations resulting from the ground crew’s wildcat strike would also affect the bottomline.
“It will take a few days before we can normalize operations,” he said.
“Hopefully, the second half will be [profitable] since the third and the fourth quarter are usually profitable seasons.”
Eric B. Apolonio, Vito Barcelo, Jeremiah F. de Guzman
PAL says outsourcing key to new investors
Top Business News
Published : Saturday, October 01, 2011 00:00
Written by : DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER
PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) on Friday said its outsourcing plan is key to attracting new investors, as the flag carrier braced for second-quarter losses mainly because of costlier jet fuel and weak passenger demand.
“We are doing this for the survival of the airline and to make it attractive to new investors,” Jaime Bautista, PAL president said on the sidelines of the stockholders’ meeting of parent PAL Holdings Inc.
He said the airline expects to save $50 million a year from the outsourcing of three non-core businesses, namely catering, ground handling and call center reservations.
The outsourcing plan takes effect October 1. Bautista told reporters that the July to September period is a losing quarter for the airline because of the lean season.
He also blamed the expected loss on rising jet fuel prices, which account for about 40 percent to 60 percent of the airline’s expenses.
PAL reported a net income of $28.2 million for the second quarter of its fiscal year in 2010, but incurred a net loss of $10.6 million in the April to June period, the first quarter of its fiscal year ending March.
This was a reversal from the $31.6-million net income in the same period last year. Revenues this year amounted to $454.1 million, up by 6 percent year-on-year.
Bautista said the company is “cautiously optimistic” that it will continue its recovery this fiscal year, but added that the disruption of its operations brought about by a labor union protest would affect its bottom line in the second half.
PAL Employees Association is protesting the flag carrier’s outsourcing plan, which would result in the retrenchment of 2,600 employees alongside savings of $10 million to $15 million a year for the carrier.
PAL has contracted Sky Kitchen for its catering business, Sky Logistics for airport services, and SPi Global for call center reservations. SPi Global is a unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).
PLDT and other companies chaired by Manuel Pangilinan recently formed an aviation firm, fueling rumors that the country’s biggest telecom concern is vying for control of PAL. PAL Holdings and Metro Pacific Investment Corp. had since denied they were in talks for the sale of the airline to the latter.
Both PLDT and MPIC are controlled by Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd.
Published : Saturday, October 01, 2011 00:00
Written by : DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER
PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) on Friday said its outsourcing plan is key to attracting new investors, as the flag carrier braced for second-quarter losses mainly because of costlier jet fuel and weak passenger demand.
“We are doing this for the survival of the airline and to make it attractive to new investors,” Jaime Bautista, PAL president said on the sidelines of the stockholders’ meeting of parent PAL Holdings Inc.
He said the airline expects to save $50 million a year from the outsourcing of three non-core businesses, namely catering, ground handling and call center reservations.
The outsourcing plan takes effect October 1. Bautista told reporters that the July to September period is a losing quarter for the airline because of the lean season.
He also blamed the expected loss on rising jet fuel prices, which account for about 40 percent to 60 percent of the airline’s expenses.
PAL reported a net income of $28.2 million for the second quarter of its fiscal year in 2010, but incurred a net loss of $10.6 million in the April to June period, the first quarter of its fiscal year ending March.
This was a reversal from the $31.6-million net income in the same period last year. Revenues this year amounted to $454.1 million, up by 6 percent year-on-year.
Bautista said the company is “cautiously optimistic” that it will continue its recovery this fiscal year, but added that the disruption of its operations brought about by a labor union protest would affect its bottom line in the second half.
PAL Employees Association is protesting the flag carrier’s outsourcing plan, which would result in the retrenchment of 2,600 employees alongside savings of $10 million to $15 million a year for the carrier.
PAL has contracted Sky Kitchen for its catering business, Sky Logistics for airport services, and SPi Global for call center reservations. SPi Global is a unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).
PLDT and other companies chaired by Manuel Pangilinan recently formed an aviation firm, fueling rumors that the country’s biggest telecom concern is vying for control of PAL. PAL Holdings and Metro Pacific Investment Corp. had since denied they were in talks for the sale of the airline to the latter.
Both PLDT and MPIC are controlled by Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd.
PAL abandons talks with union
The Philippine Star
By Rudy Santos and Mayen Jaymalin
October 01, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The management of the country’s flag carrier Philippine Airlines is no longer interested in going back to the negotiating table to discuss ways to end the impasse with striking employees, PAL president Jaime Bautista said yesterday.
Bautista also defended the implementation of its spin-off/outsourcing program amid criticisms, saying PAL is well within its rights to restructure operations to ensure long-term survival and save the jobs of its 5,000 remaining employees.
“The DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) and the President have spoken; PALEA (PAL Employees Association) has filed their appeal with the appellate court. Let’s just wait for the CA’s (Court of Appeals) action on this matter. We have nothing more to talk about. The time for diplomacy is long over, especially after the union’s wildcat strike,” Bautista said in a statement.
Bautista said detractors of the plan see the loss of jobs for 2,400 members of the PALEA but conveniently turn a blind eye on the 5,000 jobs of office personnel, cabin crew and pilots that PAL is trying to save.
“The law is on our side. We’re implementing the outsourcing program not on mere whim or caprice but on the basis of legal and valid orders from the Department of Labor and Employment and the Office of the President. We’re doing it to save the airline from financial ruin,” Bautista stressed.
Bautista also lashed out at critics of PAL’s outsourcing plan, saying that they offered nothing other than angry words and mere rhetoric to justify their opposition.
Bautista said PAL is determined to implement the spin-off/outsourcing program today.
“The time for negotiation has long passed. We invited PALEA to a dialogue after the Office of the President threw out their petition seeking to invalidate PAL’s outsourcing plan. PALEA members only have their intransigent leaders to blame for their current predicament,” he stressed.
Bautista said there is no doubt in everyone’s mind that the concerted refusal of PALEA members to perform their official duties in the early morning of Sept. 27 is considered a strike.
“They refused to check in passengers, load cargo and cater food – functions which they are paid to perform while on official duty – yet, they insist it is merely a form of ‘protest’ and not a ‘strike’. That’s the kind of ‘doublespeak’ PALEA leaders have been dishing out since Day One of the debate on the spin-off/outsourcing plan,” he said.
Bautista said the PALEA members’ refusal to work forced management to cancel flights for more than 16 hours last Tuesday that caused untold suffering to more than 14,000 PAL passengers.
“This doesn’t include the millions of dollars PAL lost as a result of PALEA’s illegal acts,” he added.
A failure
PALEA members, meanwhile, are still holding their protest rally and vigil near the PAL in-flight center under the watchful eye of the police anti-riot squad.
The union members are still hoping that PAL management would change its mind. Until the last day of their employment, PAL employees fought hard, but still failed to get their permanent jobs back.
Members of PALEA took to the streets and demanded that airline management reopen negotiations for a peaceful end to the work stoppage.
The call went unheeded, with the management of the country’s flag carrier opting to push through with the spin-off and retrenchment of 2,600 workers.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the government is willing to mediate, but no one among the disputing parties made any request to reopen negotiations.
“It is as clear as day that the outsourcing plan is a failure and PAL does not have the manpower to normalize its operations. We call on PAL to end the lockout of its employees and halt the premature implementation of the outsourcing plan pending the final decision of the courts,” PALEA president Gerry Rivera said.
Rivera clarified that PALEA only agreed to coordinate street rallies in advance so that traffic can be managed and not to notify the government before mounting a strike.
“As to a protest at our workplaces, of course we will not coordinate it with them. If we did that, then PAL and the police will not even allow us to enter the airport and offices. Look at what they did during our protest, they forcibly evicted employees and hurt some in the process,” he pointed out.
According to Rivera, PALEA has repeatedly warned the public that they would hold a protest that will paralyze PAL’s operations.
“Apparently nobody believed our warning, especially since PAL kept on assuring passengers that no flight disruption will happen. So now who is to blame for the inconvenience?” Rivera asked.
He said PALEA and their supporters would continue to hold protest actions in different forms like campaigning in various schools nationwide to inform the people about the adverse effect of contractualization.
“The fight against layoff and contractualization will continue until PAL’s lockout is ended and PAL employees return to their regular jobs,” Rivera said.
Policemen, on the other hand, have been deployed at the airport to ensure the safety of passengers and airport facilities.
Chief Superintendent Carmelo Valmoria, deputy regional director for operations of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said police personnel would also help ensure smooth traffic around the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) during the mass protest of PAL employees.
“We have agreed to observe maximum tolerance, but it would be different if they would try to violate the law,” Valmoria said.
Valmoria said the rallyists promised to monitor their ranks to prevent instigators.
The Presidential Task Force on Transport Strike and Mass Action headed by Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolentino met leaders of PALEA yesterday to discuss security preparations for the scheduled mass action.
Tolentino said PALEA has not secured a permit to hold a rally, but they would still allow them to hold their protest actions peacefully.
Rivera said they would just await the ruling of the CA on their motion for certiorari although they would be holding protest actions to dramatize their objection to the spin-off.
Rivera said PALEA members and their supporters are set to march from Our Lady of Airways Parish to the Manila International Airport (MIA) terminal 2.
‘Black Day’
Various trade unions led by the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) expressed sympathy for the PALEA members.
In a statement, FASAP said it was a “Black Day” for PAL and the entire Filipino workforce since regular workers would be retrenched, only to be rehired as contractuals.
“Throughout PAL’s long history, the (PALEA) members have always been the soul of the airline. Without the PALEA ground employees, PAL would not have made the billions of pesos in profit it made last year. Without them, PAL would have closed down permanently back in 1998,” FASAP said.
“This tragic episode in PAL, which will terminate and contractualize 2,600 loyal and hardworking PAL workers, will go down in Philippine history as yet another blow to the plight of the Filipino workingman. All in the name of profit,” FASAP added.
FASAP echoed PALEA’s call for the management to sit down with them again for honest-to-goodness negotiations and resolve the problem amicably for the sake of industrial peace and harmony.
For its part, TUCP said PAL’s decision to terminate regular rank-and-file employees is a blatant violation of the existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
TUCP said the airline’s present difficulties stem from a labor dispute caused by unfair labor practices committed by the PAL management – a deliberate attack on the workers’ fundamental rights and core labor standards using the veil of corporate sustainability and competitiveness.
TUCP also stressed the threat of Malacañang to file charges against PALEA would undermine the Constitution and create a chilling effect throughout the entire labor movement.
By Rudy Santos and Mayen Jaymalin
October 01, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The management of the country’s flag carrier Philippine Airlines is no longer interested in going back to the negotiating table to discuss ways to end the impasse with striking employees, PAL president Jaime Bautista said yesterday.
Bautista also defended the implementation of its spin-off/outsourcing program amid criticisms, saying PAL is well within its rights to restructure operations to ensure long-term survival and save the jobs of its 5,000 remaining employees.
“The DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) and the President have spoken; PALEA (PAL Employees Association) has filed their appeal with the appellate court. Let’s just wait for the CA’s (Court of Appeals) action on this matter. We have nothing more to talk about. The time for diplomacy is long over, especially after the union’s wildcat strike,” Bautista said in a statement.
Bautista said detractors of the plan see the loss of jobs for 2,400 members of the PALEA but conveniently turn a blind eye on the 5,000 jobs of office personnel, cabin crew and pilots that PAL is trying to save.
“The law is on our side. We’re implementing the outsourcing program not on mere whim or caprice but on the basis of legal and valid orders from the Department of Labor and Employment and the Office of the President. We’re doing it to save the airline from financial ruin,” Bautista stressed.
Bautista also lashed out at critics of PAL’s outsourcing plan, saying that they offered nothing other than angry words and mere rhetoric to justify their opposition.
Bautista said PAL is determined to implement the spin-off/outsourcing program today.
“The time for negotiation has long passed. We invited PALEA to a dialogue after the Office of the President threw out their petition seeking to invalidate PAL’s outsourcing plan. PALEA members only have their intransigent leaders to blame for their current predicament,” he stressed.
Bautista said there is no doubt in everyone’s mind that the concerted refusal of PALEA members to perform their official duties in the early morning of Sept. 27 is considered a strike.
“They refused to check in passengers, load cargo and cater food – functions which they are paid to perform while on official duty – yet, they insist it is merely a form of ‘protest’ and not a ‘strike’. That’s the kind of ‘doublespeak’ PALEA leaders have been dishing out since Day One of the debate on the spin-off/outsourcing plan,” he said.
Bautista said the PALEA members’ refusal to work forced management to cancel flights for more than 16 hours last Tuesday that caused untold suffering to more than 14,000 PAL passengers.
“This doesn’t include the millions of dollars PAL lost as a result of PALEA’s illegal acts,” he added.
A failure
PALEA members, meanwhile, are still holding their protest rally and vigil near the PAL in-flight center under the watchful eye of the police anti-riot squad.
The union members are still hoping that PAL management would change its mind. Until the last day of their employment, PAL employees fought hard, but still failed to get their permanent jobs back.
Members of PALEA took to the streets and demanded that airline management reopen negotiations for a peaceful end to the work stoppage.
The call went unheeded, with the management of the country’s flag carrier opting to push through with the spin-off and retrenchment of 2,600 workers.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the government is willing to mediate, but no one among the disputing parties made any request to reopen negotiations.
“It is as clear as day that the outsourcing plan is a failure and PAL does not have the manpower to normalize its operations. We call on PAL to end the lockout of its employees and halt the premature implementation of the outsourcing plan pending the final decision of the courts,” PALEA president Gerry Rivera said.
Rivera clarified that PALEA only agreed to coordinate street rallies in advance so that traffic can be managed and not to notify the government before mounting a strike.
“As to a protest at our workplaces, of course we will not coordinate it with them. If we did that, then PAL and the police will not even allow us to enter the airport and offices. Look at what they did during our protest, they forcibly evicted employees and hurt some in the process,” he pointed out.
According to Rivera, PALEA has repeatedly warned the public that they would hold a protest that will paralyze PAL’s operations.
“Apparently nobody believed our warning, especially since PAL kept on assuring passengers that no flight disruption will happen. So now who is to blame for the inconvenience?” Rivera asked.
He said PALEA and their supporters would continue to hold protest actions in different forms like campaigning in various schools nationwide to inform the people about the adverse effect of contractualization.
“The fight against layoff and contractualization will continue until PAL’s lockout is ended and PAL employees return to their regular jobs,” Rivera said.
Policemen, on the other hand, have been deployed at the airport to ensure the safety of passengers and airport facilities.
Chief Superintendent Carmelo Valmoria, deputy regional director for operations of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said police personnel would also help ensure smooth traffic around the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) during the mass protest of PAL employees.
“We have agreed to observe maximum tolerance, but it would be different if they would try to violate the law,” Valmoria said.
Valmoria said the rallyists promised to monitor their ranks to prevent instigators.
The Presidential Task Force on Transport Strike and Mass Action headed by Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolentino met leaders of PALEA yesterday to discuss security preparations for the scheduled mass action.
Tolentino said PALEA has not secured a permit to hold a rally, but they would still allow them to hold their protest actions peacefully.
Rivera said they would just await the ruling of the CA on their motion for certiorari although they would be holding protest actions to dramatize their objection to the spin-off.
Rivera said PALEA members and their supporters are set to march from Our Lady of Airways Parish to the Manila International Airport (MIA) terminal 2.
‘Black Day’
Various trade unions led by the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) expressed sympathy for the PALEA members.
In a statement, FASAP said it was a “Black Day” for PAL and the entire Filipino workforce since regular workers would be retrenched, only to be rehired as contractuals.
“Throughout PAL’s long history, the (PALEA) members have always been the soul of the airline. Without the PALEA ground employees, PAL would not have made the billions of pesos in profit it made last year. Without them, PAL would have closed down permanently back in 1998,” FASAP said.
“This tragic episode in PAL, which will terminate and contractualize 2,600 loyal and hardworking PAL workers, will go down in Philippine history as yet another blow to the plight of the Filipino workingman. All in the name of profit,” FASAP added.
FASAP echoed PALEA’s call for the management to sit down with them again for honest-to-goodness negotiations and resolve the problem amicably for the sake of industrial peace and harmony.
For its part, TUCP said PAL’s decision to terminate regular rank-and-file employees is a blatant violation of the existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
TUCP said the airline’s present difficulties stem from a labor dispute caused by unfair labor practices committed by the PAL management – a deliberate attack on the workers’ fundamental rights and core labor standards using the veil of corporate sustainability and competitiveness.
TUCP also stressed the threat of Malacañang to file charges against PALEA would undermine the Constitution and create a chilling effect throughout the entire labor movement.
No offer from MVP, SMC to acquire airline, says PAL chief
The Philippine Star
By Mary Ann Ll Reyes
October 01, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Airlines (PAL) president Jaime Bautista said yesterday that neither the company nor its controlling owner, business tycoon Lucio Tan, has received an offer from either the group of Manuel V. Pangilinan or San Miguel Corp. to acquire the airline.
“No investor in his right mind would invest in PAL at this time. A lot of things need to be done in order to make PAL attractive to investors. We have to change the way we do business. For instance, we have to streamline our operations and we need the right manpower complement. Any investor would ask what is our number of employee per aircraft and employee per passenger served. Right now, our numbers said are high compared to other airlines,” Bautista said on the sidelines of PAL Holdings’ annual stockholders’ meeting yesterday.
He emphasized that neither PAL Holdings, which owns 85 percent of PAL directly and indirectly, nor Tan is in talks for possible investments with any party.
PAL, currently beleaguered by labor unrest, is still optimistic on ending its current fiscal year with a profit, despite a loss suffered in the first half.
Bautista said for the first quarter of the current fiscal year (April 1 to June 30, 2011), the company suffered a $10-million loss, despite the fact that the first quarter is traditionally profitable.
“First quarter was a loss. In the same period last year, we made money. The second quarter is always a loss because it’s the lean season,” he said.
The first quarter was characterized by high fuel prices and depressed demand for travel especially in international routes.
He, however, said the third and fourth quarters are traditionally profitable months. “We are optimistic that we will able to recover during the second half and offset the losses during the first half.”
Bautista said they are cautiously optimistic that “we will continue our recovery this fiscal year.”
Part of PAL management’s optimism is due to the implementation of the company’s outsourcing of three non-core activities – catering, ground handling and reservations to third-party providers. A cost reduction of about $15 million is expected to be realized from outsourcing the three activities.
Despite its current problems, PAL continues to expand its aircraft fleet, with two Boeing 777 worth $200 million each and two Airbus 320 (on operating lease) scheduled for delivery next fiscal year, plus two more B777s in the succeeding year.
Bautista said the first two B777 deliveries are being taken in anticipation of the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) upgrading the Philippines back to Category 1 from its current rating of Category 2.
“President Aquino has instructed our Civil Aviation Authority (CAAP) to do everything to get the country out of Category 2 by the first half of next year,” he revealed.
The Category 2 rating has prevented Philippine carriers from mounting new flights to the US. Most of the issues raised by the US FAA involved lack of technical and qualified people and systems.
The European Union has also blacklisted the Philippines due to basically the same issues raised by the US.
Bautista told the stockholders that although there was an improvement in the performance of the aviation industry this period, the airline business is cyclical in nature. “Thus, efforts exerted last year in reducing costs and initiating revenue-generating programs are continuously being implemented and enhanced. Yet again, more problems plague the industry. The ongoing political crisis in the Middle East has increased oil prices, with jet fuel averaging $123 per barrel for the seven months this year compared to the same period’s average of $87 per barrel last year,” he said.
He added that the effect on demand for travel caused by the decline in the economies of both the US and Europe, the growth and expansion of low cost carriers especially in the Asia Pacific region, and the terrorism threat pose a greater challenge for PAL’s continued financial recovery.
By Mary Ann Ll Reyes
October 01, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Airlines (PAL) president Jaime Bautista said yesterday that neither the company nor its controlling owner, business tycoon Lucio Tan, has received an offer from either the group of Manuel V. Pangilinan or San Miguel Corp. to acquire the airline.
“No investor in his right mind would invest in PAL at this time. A lot of things need to be done in order to make PAL attractive to investors. We have to change the way we do business. For instance, we have to streamline our operations and we need the right manpower complement. Any investor would ask what is our number of employee per aircraft and employee per passenger served. Right now, our numbers said are high compared to other airlines,” Bautista said on the sidelines of PAL Holdings’ annual stockholders’ meeting yesterday.
He emphasized that neither PAL Holdings, which owns 85 percent of PAL directly and indirectly, nor Tan is in talks for possible investments with any party.
PAL, currently beleaguered by labor unrest, is still optimistic on ending its current fiscal year with a profit, despite a loss suffered in the first half.
Bautista said for the first quarter of the current fiscal year (April 1 to June 30, 2011), the company suffered a $10-million loss, despite the fact that the first quarter is traditionally profitable.
“First quarter was a loss. In the same period last year, we made money. The second quarter is always a loss because it’s the lean season,” he said.
The first quarter was characterized by high fuel prices and depressed demand for travel especially in international routes.
He, however, said the third and fourth quarters are traditionally profitable months. “We are optimistic that we will able to recover during the second half and offset the losses during the first half.”
Bautista said they are cautiously optimistic that “we will continue our recovery this fiscal year.”
Part of PAL management’s optimism is due to the implementation of the company’s outsourcing of three non-core activities – catering, ground handling and reservations to third-party providers. A cost reduction of about $15 million is expected to be realized from outsourcing the three activities.
Despite its current problems, PAL continues to expand its aircraft fleet, with two Boeing 777 worth $200 million each and two Airbus 320 (on operating lease) scheduled for delivery next fiscal year, plus two more B777s in the succeeding year.
Bautista said the first two B777 deliveries are being taken in anticipation of the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) upgrading the Philippines back to Category 1 from its current rating of Category 2.
“President Aquino has instructed our Civil Aviation Authority (CAAP) to do everything to get the country out of Category 2 by the first half of next year,” he revealed.
The Category 2 rating has prevented Philippine carriers from mounting new flights to the US. Most of the issues raised by the US FAA involved lack of technical and qualified people and systems.
The European Union has also blacklisted the Philippines due to basically the same issues raised by the US.
Bautista told the stockholders that although there was an improvement in the performance of the aviation industry this period, the airline business is cyclical in nature. “Thus, efforts exerted last year in reducing costs and initiating revenue-generating programs are continuously being implemented and enhanced. Yet again, more problems plague the industry. The ongoing political crisis in the Middle East has increased oil prices, with jet fuel averaging $123 per barrel for the seven months this year compared to the same period’s average of $87 per barrel last year,” he said.
He added that the effect on demand for travel caused by the decline in the economies of both the US and Europe, the growth and expansion of low cost carriers especially in the Asia Pacific region, and the terrorism threat pose a greater challenge for PAL’s continued financial recovery.
Friday, September 30, 2011
The PALEA Assault on the Filipino People
September 30, 2011
By BenK
I have been following the bizarre drama of Philippine Airlines, “the
world’s most entertaining air carrier”, for nearly a year as it has
struggled mightily – and at times, comically so – towards implementing
an outsourcing plan which PAL hopes will turn its financial fortunes
around. The sticking point throughout the whole sorry saga has been the
resistance of the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA),
which represents the 2,600 catering, reservations, and ground service
workers who have been made redundant by the plan of PAL to divest itself
of those three business units.
On Tuesday, with Manila and most of the rest of Luzon already dealing with
being pounded by Typhoon Pedring, the PAL-PALEA dispute came to an ugly
head when 300 or so PALEA employees staged an all-day “work stoppage”
at NAIA, forcing PAL to suspend all operations and stranding, according to
an airline spokesperson, about 14,000 passengers. The wildcat strike,
which was patently illegal according to Philippine labor law and
presumably punishable under the terms of the Civil Aviation Act of 2008
has sparked the predictable debate online, much of it rather idiotic if
the examples strained from the Net and posted by Paul Farol over at Pinoy
Buzz yesterday are any indication, including this gem he dug out of Raissa
Robles’ blog:
Meanwhile, in the blogosphere, blogger and Journalist Raissa Robles
needles PAL over an apparent attempt to mislead people with semantics,
specifically with the word “non-core personnel”:
I can’t help but notice that a sit-down protest held by PAL’s
ground employees yesterday totally paralyzed company operations and
caused 14,000 passengers to miss their flights.
Didn’t PAL keep saying – to justify the sacking of several
thousand employees – that what they were out-sourcing were
“non-core” activities?
“Non-core” would mean that these activities are not that vital to
their day-to-day operations, right?
And yet when these “non-core” personnel struck yesterday, company
operations were turned into total chaos.
Robles then leaves a link to a previous article where she underscores
her abilities as an investigative journalist. Robles essentially tries
to contextualize PALEA’s strike, somewhat suggesting it is a
justifiable recourse despite what the Civil Aviation Act of 2008 says.
So, Ms. Raissa is an investigative journalist. Good for her. I am, among
other things, a consultant and analyst of the airline industry, and
coincidentally happen to be working right now with a sizeable Middle
Eastern carrier on various issues concerning its own outsourcing plan. So
I have the privilege of drawing on a bit more specific knowledge than she
can when I commented on her brief and sarcastic post with:
You seem to have a rather naïve understanding of what a “core
employee” is to an airline. The “core task” as far as any
airline is concerned is moving paying passengers from one point to
another by means of an aircraft. That requires flight crews to operate
the aircraft, and cabin crews to maintain passenger safety. Everything
and everybody else is “non-core”. Essential for efficiency and
productivity, yes, but not necessarily something the airline needs to
provide itself, if useful alternatives (such as contractors) are
reliably available.
Outsourcing is the way of the world in the airline industry, it’s
sensible business. Personally, I’m skeptical of PAL’s ability to
manage tying their own shoes correctly, but I’ll tell you what,
I’d think even less of them from a business perspective if they
didn’t do this spin-off. PALEA has had more than a year to come to
terms with this, and they have consistently picked the most idiotic
and counter-productive choice [of how to respond] every time they’ve
had a chance.
Could PAL have handled the situation on Tuesday better? Probably. But
if I’m a suddenly-stranded passenger, already dealing with a typhoon
and faced with some planking jackass at the check-in counter
preventing me from getting on my flight home, or to the job overseas I
need to send my kids to school, I’m not going to blame the
abstraction of PAL management. I’m going to blame the fool in front
of me who’s visibly ruining my day, and the group represented by the
name PALEA on the sign he’s carrying. And I’m not going to be
particularly convinced of his argument that job security is his
“right.”
[PALEA President] Gerry Rivera should have thought of how this would
really play to the public, but he’s been so out of touch with
reality all through this saga that it would have been a real surprise
for him to get a clue now.
And therein lies the rub. For all its faults – and it has more than I
can count – for all its history of bad relations with its labor unions,
and whatever its real motives are, PAL has at least proceeded in line with
the basic core goal of keeping its planes in the air and keeping people on
the move. Yes, it does a terrible job at it, and there are much better
alternatives for the consumer even in this limited air transport market.
Nonetheless, the inescapable conclusion is that, however small the
added-value PAL’s existence may actually be, it does, perhaps in spite
of itself, provide a public service.
PALEA does not. PALEA provides a service for, at this point, roughly 300
malcontents out of about 2,600 people, the rest of whom, while
understandably not exactly thrilled with the new arrangements and probably
rightly concerned about their prospects in an uncertain job market, took
what they could get out of an inevitable situation and moved on.
The President characterized the “labor action” on Tuesday as
“economic sabotage” and for once he’s actually right about
something. PALEA is conducting an assault on the Filipino people, and
it’s actually a three-pronged attack. First, there was the incredible
confusion and inconvenience caused by forcing PAL to ground on Tuesday.
Many of the affected passengers were probably only inconvenienced – but
does PALEA know how many may have missed being somewhere really important,
and will suffer serious consequences as a result? Second, PALEA’s action
damaged the image and reputation of the country. PAL is the only airline
that carries the country’s name to other places (Air Philippines, which
only has limited and usually code-shared service to Singapore and Hong
Kong, doesn’t count), and while whatever ire an international traveler
might feel when learning he can’t board his flight to Manila is of
course probably going to be directed at the airline, he wouldn’t be
feeling that ire for that particular reason if it were not for PALEA’s
planking jackasses in NAIA.
And finally, PALEA’s antics harm the cause of every other labor
organization in the country. The Philippines is not a good atmosphere for
organized labor in the first place, which is unfortunate because at this
stage of the country’s development many workers do need the protection a
union can provide. By behaving in an irresponsible way and making the
public the bearer of the consequences of their actions, PALEA risks
hardening public opinion against unions in general, and as public opinion
goes, so go the opinions of legislators who keep their jobs by reacting to
it without looking into circumstances too deeply or objectively.
Economic sabotage? PALEA is lucky they’re in the Philippines. A country
with less of a sense of humor might consider it something a lot worse.
By BenK
I have been following the bizarre drama of Philippine Airlines, “the
world’s most entertaining air carrier”, for nearly a year as it has
struggled mightily – and at times, comically so – towards implementing
an outsourcing plan which PAL hopes will turn its financial fortunes
around. The sticking point throughout the whole sorry saga has been the
resistance of the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA),
which represents the 2,600 catering, reservations, and ground service
workers who have been made redundant by the plan of PAL to divest itself
of those three business units.
On Tuesday, with Manila and most of the rest of Luzon already dealing with
being pounded by Typhoon Pedring, the PAL-PALEA dispute came to an ugly
head when 300 or so PALEA employees staged an all-day “work stoppage”
at NAIA, forcing PAL to suspend all operations and stranding, according to
an airline spokesperson, about 14,000 passengers. The wildcat strike,
which was patently illegal according to Philippine labor law and
presumably punishable under the terms of the Civil Aviation Act of 2008
has sparked the predictable debate online, much of it rather idiotic if
the examples strained from the Net and posted by Paul Farol over at Pinoy
Buzz yesterday are any indication, including this gem he dug out of Raissa
Robles’ blog:
Meanwhile, in the blogosphere, blogger and Journalist Raissa Robles
needles PAL over an apparent attempt to mislead people with semantics,
specifically with the word “non-core personnel”:
I can’t help but notice that a sit-down protest held by PAL’s
ground employees yesterday totally paralyzed company operations and
caused 14,000 passengers to miss their flights.
Didn’t PAL keep saying – to justify the sacking of several
thousand employees – that what they were out-sourcing were
“non-core” activities?
“Non-core” would mean that these activities are not that vital to
their day-to-day operations, right?
And yet when these “non-core” personnel struck yesterday, company
operations were turned into total chaos.
Robles then leaves a link to a previous article where she underscores
her abilities as an investigative journalist. Robles essentially tries
to contextualize PALEA’s strike, somewhat suggesting it is a
justifiable recourse despite what the Civil Aviation Act of 2008 says.
So, Ms. Raissa is an investigative journalist. Good for her. I am, among
other things, a consultant and analyst of the airline industry, and
coincidentally happen to be working right now with a sizeable Middle
Eastern carrier on various issues concerning its own outsourcing plan. So
I have the privilege of drawing on a bit more specific knowledge than she
can when I commented on her brief and sarcastic post with:
You seem to have a rather naïve understanding of what a “core
employee” is to an airline. The “core task” as far as any
airline is concerned is moving paying passengers from one point to
another by means of an aircraft. That requires flight crews to operate
the aircraft, and cabin crews to maintain passenger safety. Everything
and everybody else is “non-core”. Essential for efficiency and
productivity, yes, but not necessarily something the airline needs to
provide itself, if useful alternatives (such as contractors) are
reliably available.
Outsourcing is the way of the world in the airline industry, it’s
sensible business. Personally, I’m skeptical of PAL’s ability to
manage tying their own shoes correctly, but I’ll tell you what,
I’d think even less of them from a business perspective if they
didn’t do this spin-off. PALEA has had more than a year to come to
terms with this, and they have consistently picked the most idiotic
and counter-productive choice [of how to respond] every time they’ve
had a chance.
Could PAL have handled the situation on Tuesday better? Probably. But
if I’m a suddenly-stranded passenger, already dealing with a typhoon
and faced with some planking jackass at the check-in counter
preventing me from getting on my flight home, or to the job overseas I
need to send my kids to school, I’m not going to blame the
abstraction of PAL management. I’m going to blame the fool in front
of me who’s visibly ruining my day, and the group represented by the
name PALEA on the sign he’s carrying. And I’m not going to be
particularly convinced of his argument that job security is his
“right.”
[PALEA President] Gerry Rivera should have thought of how this would
really play to the public, but he’s been so out of touch with
reality all through this saga that it would have been a real surprise
for him to get a clue now.
And therein lies the rub. For all its faults – and it has more than I
can count – for all its history of bad relations with its labor unions,
and whatever its real motives are, PAL has at least proceeded in line with
the basic core goal of keeping its planes in the air and keeping people on
the move. Yes, it does a terrible job at it, and there are much better
alternatives for the consumer even in this limited air transport market.
Nonetheless, the inescapable conclusion is that, however small the
added-value PAL’s existence may actually be, it does, perhaps in spite
of itself, provide a public service.
PALEA does not. PALEA provides a service for, at this point, roughly 300
malcontents out of about 2,600 people, the rest of whom, while
understandably not exactly thrilled with the new arrangements and probably
rightly concerned about their prospects in an uncertain job market, took
what they could get out of an inevitable situation and moved on.
The President characterized the “labor action” on Tuesday as
“economic sabotage” and for once he’s actually right about
something. PALEA is conducting an assault on the Filipino people, and
it’s actually a three-pronged attack. First, there was the incredible
confusion and inconvenience caused by forcing PAL to ground on Tuesday.
Many of the affected passengers were probably only inconvenienced – but
does PALEA know how many may have missed being somewhere really important,
and will suffer serious consequences as a result? Second, PALEA’s action
damaged the image and reputation of the country. PAL is the only airline
that carries the country’s name to other places (Air Philippines, which
only has limited and usually code-shared service to Singapore and Hong
Kong, doesn’t count), and while whatever ire an international traveler
might feel when learning he can’t board his flight to Manila is of
course probably going to be directed at the airline, he wouldn’t be
feeling that ire for that particular reason if it were not for PALEA’s
planking jackasses in NAIA.
And finally, PALEA’s antics harm the cause of every other labor
organization in the country. The Philippines is not a good atmosphere for
organized labor in the first place, which is unfortunate because at this
stage of the country’s development many workers do need the protection a
union can provide. By behaving in an irresponsible way and making the
public the bearer of the consequences of their actions, PALEA risks
hardening public opinion against unions in general, and as public opinion
goes, so go the opinions of legislators who keep their jobs by reacting to
it without looking into circumstances too deeply or objectively.
Economic sabotage? PALEA is lucky they’re in the Philippines. A country
with less of a sense of humor might consider it something a lot worse.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Philippine Airlines Flight Advisory
Effective 29 September 2011 (Thursday), until further notice, the following PAL flights will be operated in NAIA Terminal 3:
- PR189 Manila-Roxas ETD 0530H
- PR190 Roxas-Manila ETA 0800H
- PR281 Manila-Cagayan de Oro ETD 0600H
- PR282 Cagayan de Oro-Manila ETA 0920H
- PR175 Manila-Tagbilaran ETD 0850H
- PR176 Tagbilaran-Manila ETA 1200H
- PR141 Manila-Iloilo nETD 1250H
- PR142 Iloilo-Manila nETA 1435H
- PR391 Manila-Tacloban nETD 1010H
- PR392 Tacloban-Manila nETA 1315H
- PR197 Manila-Puerto Princesa ETD 1600H
- PR198 Puerto Princesa-Manila ETA 1905H
Passengers are advised to look for PAL-designated counters / PAL signages at Terminal 3. Free shuttle buses are stationed at Terminal 2 to ferry passengers Terminal 3.
Meanwhile, the following PAL flights will be operated in NAIA Terminal 2:
International
- PR466 Manila-Incheon nETD 0300H
- PR467 Incheon-Manila ETA
- PR358 Manila-Beijing ETD 0720H
- PR359 Beijing-Manila ETA 1740H
- PR896 Manila-Taipei ETD 0720H
- PR899 Taipei-Manila ETA 1930H
- PR334 Manila-Xiamen ETD 0740H
- PR335 Xiamen-Manila ETA 1325H
- PR300 Manila-Hong Kong ETD 0800H
- PR301 Hong Kong-Manila ETA 1315H
- PR426 Manila-Fukuoka ETD 1020H
- PR425 Fukuoka-Manila ETA 1830H
- PR730 Manila-Bangkok ETD 1025H
- PR731 Bangkok-Manila ETA 1820H
- PR336 Manila-Shanghai ETD 1130H
- PR337 Shanghai-Manila ETA 1930H
- PR438 Manila-Nagoya ETD 1330H
- PR437 Nagoya-Manila ETA 1245H (next day)
- PR408 Manila-Osaka ETD 1425H
- PR407 Osaka-Manila ETA 1305H (next day)
- PR432 Manila-Narita ETD 1430H
- PR431 Narita-Manila ETA 1310H (next day)
- PR468 Manila-Incheon ETD 1430H
- PR469 Incheon-Manila ETA 2340H
- PR306 Manila-Hong Kong ETD 1450H
- PR307 Hong Kong-Manila ETA 2005H
- PR100 Manila-Honolulu ETD 1520H
- PR101 Honolulu-Manila ETA 1435H (next day)
- PR106 Manila-Vancouver-Las Vegas ETD 1640H
- PR107 Las Vegas-Vancouver-Manila ETA 0430H (01Oct)
- PR209 Manila-Melbourne-Sydney ETD 2100H
- PR210 Sydney-Manila ETA 1720H (next day)
- PR102 Manila-Los Angeles ETD 2200H
- PR103 Los Angeles-Manila ETA 0605H (01Oct)
- PR104 Manila-San Francisco ETD 2230H
- PR105 San Francisco-Manila ETA 0540H (01 Oct)
Domestic
- PR811 Manila-Davao ETD 0900H
- PR812 Davao-Manila ETA 1340H
- PR853 Manila-Cebu ETD 0900H
- PR854 Cebu-Manila ETA 1230H
- PR226 Manila-Laoag ETD 0950H
- PR227 Laoag-Manila ETA 1230H
- PR861 Manila-Cebu ETD 1245H
- PR849 Manila-Cebu ETD 1530H
- PR850 Cebu-Manila ETA 1900H
- PR813 Manila-Davao ETD 1530H
- PR814 Davao-Manila ETA 2010H
All PAL flights not included in the above list are CANCELLED until further notice.
- PR189 Manila-Roxas ETD 0530H
- PR190 Roxas-Manila ETA 0800H
- PR281 Manila-Cagayan de Oro ETD 0600H
- PR282 Cagayan de Oro-Manila ETA 0920H
- PR175 Manila-Tagbilaran ETD 0850H
- PR176 Tagbilaran-Manila ETA 1200H
- PR141 Manila-Iloilo nETD 1250H
- PR142 Iloilo-Manila nETA 1435H
- PR391 Manila-Tacloban nETD 1010H
- PR392 Tacloban-Manila nETA 1315H
- PR197 Manila-Puerto Princesa ETD 1600H
- PR198 Puerto Princesa-Manila ETA 1905H
Passengers are advised to look for PAL-designated counters / PAL signages at Terminal 3. Free shuttle buses are stationed at Terminal 2 to ferry passengers Terminal 3.
Meanwhile, the following PAL flights will be operated in NAIA Terminal 2:
International
- PR466 Manila-Incheon nETD 0300H
- PR467 Incheon-Manila ETA
- PR358 Manila-Beijing ETD 0720H
- PR359 Beijing-Manila ETA 1740H
- PR896 Manila-Taipei ETD 0720H
- PR899 Taipei-Manila ETA 1930H
- PR334 Manila-Xiamen ETD 0740H
- PR335 Xiamen-Manila ETA 1325H
- PR300 Manila-Hong Kong ETD 0800H
- PR301 Hong Kong-Manila ETA 1315H
- PR426 Manila-Fukuoka ETD 1020H
- PR425 Fukuoka-Manila ETA 1830H
- PR730 Manila-Bangkok ETD 1025H
- PR731 Bangkok-Manila ETA 1820H
- PR336 Manila-Shanghai ETD 1130H
- PR337 Shanghai-Manila ETA 1930H
- PR438 Manila-Nagoya ETD 1330H
- PR437 Nagoya-Manila ETA 1245H (next day)
- PR408 Manila-Osaka ETD 1425H
- PR407 Osaka-Manila ETA 1305H (next day)
- PR432 Manila-Narita ETD 1430H
- PR431 Narita-Manila ETA 1310H (next day)
- PR468 Manila-Incheon ETD 1430H
- PR469 Incheon-Manila ETA 2340H
- PR306 Manila-Hong Kong ETD 1450H
- PR307 Hong Kong-Manila ETA 2005H
- PR100 Manila-Honolulu ETD 1520H
- PR101 Honolulu-Manila ETA 1435H (next day)
- PR106 Manila-Vancouver-Las Vegas ETD 1640H
- PR107 Las Vegas-Vancouver-Manila ETA 0430H (01Oct)
- PR209 Manila-Melbourne-Sydney ETD 2100H
- PR210 Sydney-Manila ETA 1720H (next day)
- PR102 Manila-Los Angeles ETD 2200H
- PR103 Los Angeles-Manila ETA 0605H (01Oct)
- PR104 Manila-San Francisco ETD 2230H
- PR105 San Francisco-Manila ETA 0540H (01 Oct)
Domestic
- PR811 Manila-Davao ETD 0900H
- PR812 Davao-Manila ETA 1340H
- PR853 Manila-Cebu ETD 0900H
- PR854 Cebu-Manila ETA 1230H
- PR226 Manila-Laoag ETD 0950H
- PR227 Laoag-Manila ETA 1230H
- PR861 Manila-Cebu ETD 1245H
- PR849 Manila-Cebu ETD 1530H
- PR850 Cebu-Manila ETA 1900H
- PR813 Manila-Davao ETD 1530H
- PR814 Davao-Manila ETA 2010H
All PAL flights not included in the above list are CANCELLED until further notice.
Philippine Airlines: Public Apology
The management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) extends its sincerest apologies to all passengers inconvenienced by the recent (Sept. 27, 2011) wildcat strike staged by the ground crew union (PALEA) at NAIA Terminal 2.
PAL volunteers (administrative staff and PALEA members who did not join the work stoppage) were immediately mobilized to replace the striking workers in an effort to resume operations.
PAL is grateful to the various airport and law enforcement agencies, our management volunteers and our loyal passengers for their continued patronage during these challenging times for the national flag carrier.
-- Philippine Airlines
PAL volunteers (administrative staff and PALEA members who did not join the work stoppage) were immediately mobilized to replace the striking workers in an effort to resume operations.
PAL is grateful to the various airport and law enforcement agencies, our management volunteers and our loyal passengers for their continued patronage during these challenging times for the national flag carrier.
-- Philippine Airlines
Friday, September 16, 2011
FLIGHT ADVISORY:
FLIGHT ADVISORY: Passengers for tomorrow's flights (September 16, 2011) are advised to leave much earlier than usual for the airport, or at least four hours before their scheduled departure time, in anticipation of heavy traffic along the roads leading to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
The PAL Employees Association is expected to conduct mass actions within the vicinity of the airport in celebration of PALEA's anniversary.
The PAL Employees Association is expected to conduct mass actions within the vicinity of the airport in celebration of PALEA's anniversary.
PAL’s service providers urged to file for DOLE accreditation
Business Mirror
September 16-17, 2011
By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan
The service providers of Philippine Airlines (PAL) are welcome to file their respective certificates of registration before the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to avoid legal complications as they take over the airline’s three outsourced departments on October 1.
DOLE National Capital Region Director Raymundo Agravante said SkyKitchen Philippines Inc., SkyLogistics Philippines Inc. and SPi Global—the three service providers chosen by PAL—can file their accreditation with the DOLE “anytime.”
Requirements include a duly accomplished and notarized form, certified true copy of certificates of registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Trade and Industry, local business permits and other supporting documents. Registration fee is P100.
“Processing normally takes only 24 hours. If they file today, they will be accredited the next day as long as they meet all requirements,” Agravante said.
On September 7 Agravante issued a certification—on the request of the PAL Employees Association (Palea)—attesting that PAL’s three service providers are not registered with DOLE as service contractors in accordance with DOLE Department Order 18-02.
A similar certification was requested by Palea from DOLE Cebu on September 12. Agravante stressed nothing is preventing PAL’s service providers from filing the applications for DOLE accreditation.
The statement douses cold water on Palea’s claim that PAL’s service providers are “bogus, labor-only” contracting firms due to alleged lack of DOLE accreditation. It turns out, however, that these firms can file their applications anytime, as the DOLE said.
Earlier, Agravante created a Quick Response Team to help PAL and the more than 2,000 workers who will be displaced by the flag carrier’s outsourcing program.
He said his office received a copy of PAL’s notice of termination that the airline sent to its 2,164 Metro Manila-based workers on August 26. Similar separation letters were sent to DOLE Cebu for its workers based in the area.
Agravante said the Quick Response Team was created to facilitate and help ensure “the payment of monetary benefits and to provide package of assistance to would-be displaced workers.”
September 16-17, 2011
By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan
The service providers of Philippine Airlines (PAL) are welcome to file their respective certificates of registration before the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to avoid legal complications as they take over the airline’s three outsourced departments on October 1.
DOLE National Capital Region Director Raymundo Agravante said SkyKitchen Philippines Inc., SkyLogistics Philippines Inc. and SPi Global—the three service providers chosen by PAL—can file their accreditation with the DOLE “anytime.”
Requirements include a duly accomplished and notarized form, certified true copy of certificates of registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Trade and Industry, local business permits and other supporting documents. Registration fee is P100.
“Processing normally takes only 24 hours. If they file today, they will be accredited the next day as long as they meet all requirements,” Agravante said.
On September 7 Agravante issued a certification—on the request of the PAL Employees Association (Palea)—attesting that PAL’s three service providers are not registered with DOLE as service contractors in accordance with DOLE Department Order 18-02.
A similar certification was requested by Palea from DOLE Cebu on September 12. Agravante stressed nothing is preventing PAL’s service providers from filing the applications for DOLE accreditation.
The statement douses cold water on Palea’s claim that PAL’s service providers are “bogus, labor-only” contracting firms due to alleged lack of DOLE accreditation. It turns out, however, that these firms can file their applications anytime, as the DOLE said.
Earlier, Agravante created a Quick Response Team to help PAL and the more than 2,000 workers who will be displaced by the flag carrier’s outsourcing program.
He said his office received a copy of PAL’s notice of termination that the airline sent to its 2,164 Metro Manila-based workers on August 26. Similar separation letters were sent to DOLE Cebu for its workers based in the area.
Agravante said the Quick Response Team was created to facilitate and help ensure “the payment of monetary benefits and to provide package of assistance to would-be displaced workers.”
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