Palace says it won’t step into PAL labor row yet

By Cathy C. Yamsuan, Nancy C. Carvajal
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:36:00 08/11/2010

MANILA, Philippines—The government may have to again step into the imbroglio between the management and employees of Philippine Airlines.

“The law provides for the intervention of the government if it involves the national interest,” said presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda in a news conference Tuesday.

He hesitated to elaborate, however, saying that it was too early [for intervention] in the case of PAL management and the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) whose negotiations on their collective bargaining agreement have bogged down.

This as a second wave of pilots is poised to leave the national flag carrier for jobs abroad, following the 26 who left suddenly two weeks ago.

“They (FASAP members) are still in the stage of preventive mediation. I understand there does not seem to be any resolution on the matter. But on the other hand, PAL (management) says differently,” Lacierda told reporters.

“But eventually, they would have to go into the process of performing any legal remedies they are entitled to. As (far as) the government is concerned, we’re just going to monitor dialogues (for now). We’re hoping still that there will be a solution. I have talked to (Labor) Secretary (Rosalinda) Baldoz. They (Department of Labor and Employment) are just waiting for the appropriate actions that FASAP is going to take,” he said.

But FASAP leaders said Tuesday the cabin crew are set to strike in two to three weeks if the talks set Tuesday failed again.

“We will go on strike if new talks fail. But we will make the announcement of its date, even if by doing so we will lose the element of surprise,” said Bob Anduiza, FASAP president, in a separate press conference in Quezon City Tuesday.

“We will make the announcement because we do not want to cripple business and we also know that trips are planned in advance. We do not want to disrupt them,” Anduiza said.

PAL’s management, meanwhile, appealed on Tuesday to the cabin crew to resolve their differences, saying the airline was sincere in addressing their concerns.

“Let’s find a peaceful solution to our internal problems for the sake of the flying public,” PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista said in a statement.

Bautista said negotiations were ongoing at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) where FASAP members could air their grievances instead of threatening to go on strike.
“We recognize the flight attendants’ right to express their concerns, and they can use the negotiating table to do that,” Bautista said.

He said PAL was having financial difficulty, hence, it could only offer an P80-million one-time package to FASAP under the 2005-2010 CBA.

“PAL was hit hard by the global economic recession and slowdown in travel just like other airlines around the world. We cannot afford at the moment what they are asking, but to show our good faith and sincerity in addressing their concerns, we offered the P80-million package to be divided among FASAP members,” he said in the statement.