By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:20:00 08/10/2010
MANILA, Philippines—Flight attendants of Philippine Airlines (PAL) moved a step closer to holding a strike after they and the flag carrier failed to reach an agreement at the Department of Labor and Employment Monday.
Andy Ortega, vice president of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP), said a strike became more likely after PAL management insisted that the attendants’ main complaint about retirement age should be discussed only in the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations.
“The strike option is always there and is, in fact, strengthened after [Monday’s] meeting where nothing happened,” Ortega said after the negotiations at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board.
P80-M offer
At the meeting, PAL offered an P80-million package to the flight attendants and stewards to settle their CBA for 2005-2010 but refused to talk about their mandatory retirement age.
FASAP has opposed PAL’s implementation of a mandatory retirement age of 40 for both male and female flight attendants, claiming it’s “discriminatory.”
FASAP president Roberto Anduiza said last month that his group was considering going on strike because the CBA negotiations had dragged since the last CBA expired in 2007.
“They said they want to talk about the retirement age in the next CBA, which, for us, is simply unacceptable. It should be settled in this CBA negotiation,” Ortega said.
No-motherhood policy
FASAP is also contesting the “no-motherhood policy” of PAL, which bars a pregnant flight attendant from receiving any salary or allowance and travel benefits while she is on leave.
However, PAL president Jaime Bautista said he was hopeful that FASAP would still accept the P80-million package the management offered at the conciliation meeting.
“PAL is hoping that FASAP will accept our offer. I hope they understand that PAL lost $320 million or P15 billion these past two years so the company is having a hard time offering a bigger (package),” Bautista said in a statement.
He added it was up to FASAP to determine how it would divide the P80 million among its 1,600 members.
Huge losses
PAL said it lost millions in the last two years due to the global economic crisis, exacerbated by spikes in fuel prices, the downgrade of the Philippines’ aviation safety rating to Category 2 by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the European blacklist of all Philippine carriers.
“We hope FASAP members will understand PAL’s predicament and accept the offer. While we recognize their desire for higher compensation, PAL’s current financial situation will not allow it to offer more,” Bautista said.
On the retirement age issue, Bautista said there was “more than enough time” to discuss the retirement age provisions and issues in the next CBA negotiations.
He said that a 22-year-old flight attendant, who was hired by PAL in the year 2000, would turn 40 in 2018, while those who were 22 when hired in 1996, would turn 45 in 2019.
Under the existing CBA, male and female flight attendants hired before November 1996 will be retired once they reach 60 and 55, respectively, and those hired starting 1996 will be retired at age 45.
Those hired after November 2000 will be retired at the age of 40.
Marathon meetings
As a sign of good faith, Bautista said PAL management was willing to conduct marathon meetings with FASAP for the 2010-2015 CBA.
“The immediate goal now is to put closure to the 2005-2010 CBA, which has become a major source of misunderstanding between management and FASAP,” he said.
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