Saturday, September 12, 1998

Tan gives PALEA one fifth of PAL

Today
Saturday, September 12, 1998
R. Mercerre

Philippine Airlines chairman Lucio Tan, in a landmark move, is ceding 30 percent of his PAL holdings or 20 percent of total equity to the PAL Employees Association (PALEA).
A management statement also said that Tan is ceding three seats in the company's 15-man board of directors to the union. PAL will continue to recognize the unions.
Tan's unprecedented offer gives employees a personal stake and direct participation in charting the future of the airline.
This key decision in turn has resulted in PALEA suspending its Collective Bargaining Agreement with management and giving the maimed flag carrier — now under receivership — a new lease on life.
The moratorium is a key requirement of PAL's creditors. PALEA represents the airline’s ground crew. It will get 60,000 shares of stock.
Tan's decision enabled negotiations to lead to a major breakthrough in PAL's rehabilitation plan, said a company spokesman.
Deliberating all night Tuesday, PALEA's board of directors voted to accept management’s innovative proposal in the interest of long-term industrial peace in PAL.
A spokesman said the accord augurs well for the approval of PAL's rehabilitation plans, now in its final stages of fine tuning before submission to the Securities and Exchange Commission later this month.@

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