Compliance of PAL Eyed

Manila Bulletin

Monday, November 4, 1996

By E.T. SUAREZ & ANJO PEREZ

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday it will strictly monitor compliance by the management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) controlled by Lucio Tan and by the PAL Employees' Association (PALEA) with the memorandum of agreement they signed Saturday which officially ended the strike at PAL that stranded thousands of passengers Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.

DOLE officials, led by Labor Secretary Leonardo A. Quisumbing, said strict compliance is necessary to prevent another work disruption at the country's flag-carrier now that preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings late this month are in full swing.

Quisumbing, who brokered the return-to-work agreement between PAL management and PALEA, said some participants in the APEC meetings and summit have begun to arrive.

He said another strike at PAL would directly affect the image of the country in the international community and have adverse consequences on the arrival of APEC participants, including 17 heads of state, led by US President Bill Clinton.

The four-page memorandum of agreement was signed by PAL Corporate Secretary/Senior Vice President Antonio Ocampo and Vice President/Executive Assistant to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Henry So Uy for management, and PALEA President Alexander O. Barrientos, Vice President Gerardo F. Rivera and Secretary Jose T. Peñas III, for the union.

Both parties agreed to bind themselves to comply with their undertakings in good faith and to promote harmonious relations and cooperation to foster industrial peace within the company.

PAL management said it expects full normal operation by noon today. For dispatch today are more than half of the scheduled international flights. These include flights to Narita, Japan via Cebu, Hong Kong, Taipei, Sydney and Melbourne, Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur, Fukuoka, Seoul, Singapore, Honolulu, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

In the domestic routes, 18 flights will be operated today, serving the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete, Davao, Roxas, Butuan, Puerto Princesa, Bacolod, Cotabato, Iloilo, Cebu, Tacloban, Zamboanga and Bacolod, and Kalibo, Aklan.

Resumption

NINOY AQUINO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT — Flight operations of the nation's flag carrier started to normalize yesterday afternoon after members of the Philippine Airlines Employees' Association (PALEA) started returning to work.

PAL officials assured passengers their operations would fully normalize before the end of the week.

But even with the return of PAL workers, 10 international and 31 domestic flights were cancelled after PAL management used their planes to service the heavier traffic trans-pacific and European routes, and domestic routes not serviced by the competition.

Flight delays were minimal at the NAIA and Manila Domestic Airport as flight schedules had to be readjusted to their regular time slots.

Baggage retrieval at both airports improved a bit as PAL cargo handlers reported back to work as early as 3 a.m. yesterday.

Passenger arrivals at the MDA have been brisk as thousands of passengers returned from the long All Saints' Day weekend.

Meanwhile, PAL was reported to have lost more than P100 million in rebooking, meal, and accommodation expenses caused by PALEA's three-day strike.

Manuel Panlilio, PAL Vice President for Airport Services, said part of the loss was due to the grounding of most of aircraft. Every minute an aircraft is on the ground makes it non-productive and therefore considered a loss.

Panlilio added the backlog of international passengers was minimized as they rebooked most of them to other international airlines with parallel destinations.