INQUIRER.net
First Posted 12:47:00 04/19/2010
MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Airlines (PAL) employees on Monday held a motorcade on Monday in protest at a massive retrenchment to be implemented on May 31.
An estimated 3,000 employees, or more than half of the total PAL workforce, will be laid off due to the closure of the in flight catering services, airport services (which includes ground, cargo, and ramp handling), and call center reservations including all support units.
The motorcade of some 40 cars and motorcycles started around 11:30 a.m. at the PAL Center located at the PNB Compound along the Diosdado Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City. The motorcade moved on to Nichols airport terminal then onto the PAL In Flight Center (IFC) along Airport Road in Paranaque and finally ended at the Terminal 3 of the airport.
Gerry Rivera, newly elected president of the PAL Employees Association (Palea) and vice chairman of the party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), said the spin-off aims to outsource work to companies also owned by Lucio Tan “where workers will be non-union and thus receive cheaper wages, fewer benefits, and have no security of tenure.”
“Regular workers will be retired and then rehired as contractuals. This has happened before when work was spun off to Lufthansa Technik and Macro Asia, in which Lucio Tan both had major interests. Employees retrenched from PAL because of the spin-off were employed by Macro Asia and Lufthansa Technik on new contracts.”
Meanwhile, PM chairman Renato Magtubo expressed support to the struggle of the PAL workers.
“We challenge the presidential candidates to state their position on the scourge of contractualization and their platform on job generation. The workers are not satisfied with motherhood statements but want to hear concrete programs,” Magtubo said.
Rivera explained that the motorcade is only the opening salvo in the fight against massive layoff in PAL. Last year’s plans to spin-off the same departments were stopped by PAL workers’ protests led by Rivera.
“Spin-off is not a solution to company losses but a scheme to contractualize labor and raise more profit not from better efficiency of work but from greater exploitation of workers,” Rivera said.
Palea was furnished a memo by PAL president and CEO Jaime Bautista dated April 16 which announced the planned layoff. Before the motorcade, the Palea protesters attended a hearing at the Metro Manila office of the labor department for an inter-pleader filed by PAL management.
The PAL union is alleging that an election protest filed by losing candidates in union elections held last February is part of the scheme to weaken Palea in the face of the fight against spin-off and layoff.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Militants win PAL union elections
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 11:35:00 02/28/2010
MANILA, Philippines—Militants won a landslide victory in the elections for the Philippine Airlines (PAL) ground crew union on February 25, twelve years after the controversial moratorium in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) of 1998, the PAL Employees Association (Palea) said in a news release over the weekend.
“After 12 long years, PAL employees again have a union that will protect their rights and welfare, including job security,” said Gerry Rivera, who will assume the position of Palea president on March 29.
Rivera said his group, party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), campaigned on a platform of defending job security, will immediately face a challenge as PAL reportedly plans to spin off departments and lay off employees this coming April.
PM members won the top three national union positions and their local party called Sulong Paleans cornered 13 of the 21-member union board during the elections held last Thursday, February 25. But the ballots were only finally tallied Friday night with the winners proclaimed by the union Commission on Elections and representatives of the labor department’s Metro Manila office, the news release said.
Rivera is also vice chairman of PM and has been a PM nominee in the past party-list elections. He was vice president of Palea during the PAL strike of 1998, the biggest labor dispute of the 1990s. After owner Lucio Tan temporarily shut down PAL, PAL employees were forced to agree to a 10-year CBA moratorium that has been extended twice since 2008.
The fight against spin-off and outsourcing will be a key task of the incoming union leadership, according to Rivera.
In September 2009, PAL management announced that it would outsource passenger handling, ramp handling, cargo handling, and catering by November. Rivera said the plan, which was shelved after his Sulong Paleans protested against it, would result in the layoff of at least 2,000 PAL employees.
Rivera also revealed that Palea will now insist on negotiations for a new CBA. “Through the CBA, we will ensure that security of tenure is guaranteed. No spin-off or layoff must happen if the union does not agree,” he explained.
“Contractualization is a virus that has ravaged the workers, depriving them of security of tenure, decent wages, and benefits. If PAL employees are successful in resisting management’s drive to outsource work, then hopefully we can help reverse the epidemic of contractualization,” he added.
First Posted 11:35:00 02/28/2010
MANILA, Philippines—Militants won a landslide victory in the elections for the Philippine Airlines (PAL) ground crew union on February 25, twelve years after the controversial moratorium in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) of 1998, the PAL Employees Association (Palea) said in a news release over the weekend.
“After 12 long years, PAL employees again have a union that will protect their rights and welfare, including job security,” said Gerry Rivera, who will assume the position of Palea president on March 29.
Rivera said his group, party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), campaigned on a platform of defending job security, will immediately face a challenge as PAL reportedly plans to spin off departments and lay off employees this coming April.
PM members won the top three national union positions and their local party called Sulong Paleans cornered 13 of the 21-member union board during the elections held last Thursday, February 25. But the ballots were only finally tallied Friday night with the winners proclaimed by the union Commission on Elections and representatives of the labor department’s Metro Manila office, the news release said.
Rivera is also vice chairman of PM and has been a PM nominee in the past party-list elections. He was vice president of Palea during the PAL strike of 1998, the biggest labor dispute of the 1990s. After owner Lucio Tan temporarily shut down PAL, PAL employees were forced to agree to a 10-year CBA moratorium that has been extended twice since 2008.
The fight against spin-off and outsourcing will be a key task of the incoming union leadership, according to Rivera.
In September 2009, PAL management announced that it would outsource passenger handling, ramp handling, cargo handling, and catering by November. Rivera said the plan, which was shelved after his Sulong Paleans protested against it, would result in the layoff of at least 2,000 PAL employees.
Rivera also revealed that Palea will now insist on negotiations for a new CBA. “Through the CBA, we will ensure that security of tenure is guaranteed. No spin-off or layoff must happen if the union does not agree,” he explained.
“Contractualization is a virus that has ravaged the workers, depriving them of security of tenure, decent wages, and benefits. If PAL employees are successful in resisting management’s drive to outsource work, then hopefully we can help reverse the epidemic of contractualization,” he added.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
PAL to return to Middle East
By Paolo Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:17:00 12/17/2009
PHILIPPINE Airlines may soon mount flights to the Middle East again to meet the growing demand for the flag carrier to return to the region, which millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) call home.
PAL expands Australian operations
Last week, local air transport officials reached a deal with their foreign counterparts for additional air rights between Oman and the Philippines.
The agreement will allow both Oman and local airlines to mount flights between the two countries.
The new deal allotted additional flights to Oman from Manila and Cebu. Carriers may now also fly to Oman from Clark and Davao as a result of the new deal.
“That country is a significant market because there are about 50,000 OFWs in Oman,” Arcilla said.
“Right now, it’s very difficult to get there because most flights pass through Abu Dhabi, Qatar or Hong Kong. [With] this deal, we can have direct flights,” he said.
A PAL official confirmed the airline’s planned return to the Middle East. The company earlier stopped flying to the region due to stiff competition from Arab airlines, which are able to offer cheaper tickets given their access to cheaper oil.
Jet fuel makes up nearly 40 percent of PAL’s expenses.
“There were initial plans a couple of months ago to have flights to Abu Dhabi [starting] this December,” the airline executive said in an interview. However, he said the plan fizzled out due to space restrictions in Abu Dhabi.
“Now, the Oman flights can be a real alternative to Abu Dhabi,” he said.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:17:00 12/17/2009
PHILIPPINE Airlines may soon mount flights to the Middle East again to meet the growing demand for the flag carrier to return to the region, which millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) call home.
PAL expands Australian operations
Last week, local air transport officials reached a deal with their foreign counterparts for additional air rights between Oman and the Philippines.
The agreement will allow both Oman and local airlines to mount flights between the two countries.
The new deal allotted additional flights to Oman from Manila and Cebu. Carriers may now also fly to Oman from Clark and Davao as a result of the new deal.
“That country is a significant market because there are about 50,000 OFWs in Oman,” Arcilla said.
“Right now, it’s very difficult to get there because most flights pass through Abu Dhabi, Qatar or Hong Kong. [With] this deal, we can have direct flights,” he said.
A PAL official confirmed the airline’s planned return to the Middle East. The company earlier stopped flying to the region due to stiff competition from Arab airlines, which are able to offer cheaper tickets given their access to cheaper oil.
Jet fuel makes up nearly 40 percent of PAL’s expenses.
“There were initial plans a couple of months ago to have flights to Abu Dhabi [starting] this December,” the airline executive said in an interview. However, he said the plan fizzled out due to space restrictions in Abu Dhabi.
“Now, the Oman flights can be a real alternative to Abu Dhabi,” he said.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
PAL plans to outsource 4,000 regular jobs
By EMMIE V. ABADILLA
January 19, 2010, 3:21pm
Manila Bulletin
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has to outsource operations and lay off 4,000 regular jobs to cut costs or go bankrupt.
This has been a nagging concern of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA), according to President Edgardo C. Oredina in his letter to PALEA members last month (December, 22, 2009).
Without a new capital infusion, the flag carrier will go bankrupt, the union chief quoted PAL President Jaime J. Bautista as saying to the National Conciliation and Mediation of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) board two months ago.
PAL Chairman Lucio Tan usually infuses capital into the flag carrier as a temporary relief to sustain its operations. But now, the airline plans to outsource some of its operations to avoid being in the red.
PALEA wrote to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo requesting her to intervene to prevent the layoff of thousands of workers, Oredina revealed. When Malacanang did not respond, the union sought the help of DOLE and asked whether it is possible for the government to take over PAL if the need arises.
However, the possibility of a state takeover of the flag carrier is “very remote,” DoLE Secretary Marianito Roque told PALEA. “The government has no capacity to operate an airline.” He assured them instead that DoLE will help on the issue of job preservation and that no worker will be displaced.
PALEA was also concerned that the gains of low fares no frills airlines like Cebu Pacific are the loss of legacy airlines and flag carriers like PAL.
January 19, 2010, 3:21pm
Manila Bulletin
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has to outsource operations and lay off 4,000 regular jobs to cut costs or go bankrupt.
This has been a nagging concern of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA), according to President Edgardo C. Oredina in his letter to PALEA members last month (December, 22, 2009).
Without a new capital infusion, the flag carrier will go bankrupt, the union chief quoted PAL President Jaime J. Bautista as saying to the National Conciliation and Mediation of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) board two months ago.
PAL Chairman Lucio Tan usually infuses capital into the flag carrier as a temporary relief to sustain its operations. But now, the airline plans to outsource some of its operations to avoid being in the red.
PALEA wrote to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo requesting her to intervene to prevent the layoff of thousands of workers, Oredina revealed. When Malacanang did not respond, the union sought the help of DOLE and asked whether it is possible for the government to take over PAL if the need arises.
However, the possibility of a state takeover of the flag carrier is “very remote,” DoLE Secretary Marianito Roque told PALEA. “The government has no capacity to operate an airline.” He assured them instead that DoLE will help on the issue of job preservation and that no worker will be displaced.
PALEA was also concerned that the gains of low fares no frills airlines like Cebu Pacific are the loss of legacy airlines and flag carriers like PAL.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
PAL union submits CBA draft
By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:48:00 10/09/2010
MANILA, Philippines—For the first time in 10 years, the ground crew labor union of Philippine Airlines has submitted a collective bargaining agreement proposal to the flag carrier’s management.
Gerry Rivera, Philippine Airlines Employees Association (Palea) president and concurrent vice chairperson of Partido ng Manggagawa, said PAL president Jaime Bautista himself received the proposal on Friday morning.
“This is a momentous event because for more than 10 years there have been no negotiations for the improvement of workers benefits,” Rivera said in a statement.
He said the PAL-Palea CBA was put on moratorium for 10 years in the wake of the bitter 1998 labor dispute that saw a pilots’ and ground crew strike, and the closure of the national flag carrier. The moratorium was extended for two more years under the term of previous union leaderships.
Rivera said the proposal submitted on Friday covers the years 2008 to 2013, saying that the CBA “should retroact to 2008 since the CBA moratorium was only for 10 years not 12.”
“We expect management to respond to our proposal and negotiate in good faith,” Rivera said.
He said the salient points of the CBA proposal include updating and upgrading of the pay scale of PAL employees.
“Too much wage distortion has been done to the pay scale so that there exists not only a severe contraction but to a certain extent an elimination of the quantitative differences between the job grades. We now aim to correct these distortions,” Rivera said.
He said the proposal retains but revises the provision of the old CBA prohibiting contracting out of existing positions, jobs, divisions and departments occupied by present or future regular employees. The proposal improves on the old by explicitly barring outsourcing.
“This particular provision protects job security and union representation. The planned mass layoff of some 3,000 PAL workers is illegal because of this CBA provision,” Rivera said.
He said the CBA proposal also contains provisions that enhance the retirement scheme.
“This is our way of saluting, recognizing and giving tribute to our loyal PAL workers and union members,” Rivera said.
PAL is concurrently negotiating a CBA with its flight crew. The negotiations have been deadlocked, however, on disputes over retirement age and gender discrimination. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has assumed jurisdiction over the case.
Baldoz has also assumed jurisdiction over the PAL-Palea row over the “mass lay off” of the airline’s workers.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:48:00 10/09/2010
MANILA, Philippines—For the first time in 10 years, the ground crew labor union of Philippine Airlines has submitted a collective bargaining agreement proposal to the flag carrier’s management.
Gerry Rivera, Philippine Airlines Employees Association (Palea) president and concurrent vice chairperson of Partido ng Manggagawa, said PAL president Jaime Bautista himself received the proposal on Friday morning.
“This is a momentous event because for more than 10 years there have been no negotiations for the improvement of workers benefits,” Rivera said in a statement.
He said the PAL-Palea CBA was put on moratorium for 10 years in the wake of the bitter 1998 labor dispute that saw a pilots’ and ground crew strike, and the closure of the national flag carrier. The moratorium was extended for two more years under the term of previous union leaderships.
Rivera said the proposal submitted on Friday covers the years 2008 to 2013, saying that the CBA “should retroact to 2008 since the CBA moratorium was only for 10 years not 12.”
“We expect management to respond to our proposal and negotiate in good faith,” Rivera said.
He said the salient points of the CBA proposal include updating and upgrading of the pay scale of PAL employees.
“Too much wage distortion has been done to the pay scale so that there exists not only a severe contraction but to a certain extent an elimination of the quantitative differences between the job grades. We now aim to correct these distortions,” Rivera said.
He said the proposal retains but revises the provision of the old CBA prohibiting contracting out of existing positions, jobs, divisions and departments occupied by present or future regular employees. The proposal improves on the old by explicitly barring outsourcing.
“This particular provision protects job security and union representation. The planned mass layoff of some 3,000 PAL workers is illegal because of this CBA provision,” Rivera said.
He said the CBA proposal also contains provisions that enhance the retirement scheme.
“This is our way of saluting, recognizing and giving tribute to our loyal PAL workers and union members,” Rivera said.
PAL is concurrently negotiating a CBA with its flight crew. The negotiations have been deadlocked, however, on disputes over retirement age and gender discrimination. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has assumed jurisdiction over the case.
Baldoz has also assumed jurisdiction over the PAL-Palea row over the “mass lay off” of the airline’s workers.
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