By THE MANILA BULLETIN NEWS TEAM
August 4, 2010, 7:00am
Refusing to play brinkmanship while wanting to address the situation, the Philippine Airlines (PAL) management has given the 25 pilots who had resigned and immediately stopped reporting for duty until Monday next week to return to work without being penalized.
In an interview with Manila Bulletin, PAL president Jaime Bautista set aside any animosity, saying that the more important issue right now is “to serve the riding public” who has been affected by the resignation of the pilots.
“We’re giving them until Monday to return to work without being penalized. We are not going to sanction them,” said Bautista.
Returning to work without penalty was put forward by the government and the airline management to the pilots during meetings at the Palace last Monday.
“The government requested PAL to take back the resigned pilots without sanctions. We agreed,” Bautista said.
PAL has yet to quantify the foregone revenue arising from the standoff.
Bautista admitted that the departure of the pilots, who reportedly have joined other regional airlines, have impacted heavily on the rate of utilization of PAL’s aircraft, which in turn, hurts its income.
The rate of utilization of one aircraft has dropped to between eight and nine hours from an average of 10 to 11 hours prior to resignation of some 25 pilots last week.
He, likewise, affirmed that PAL can resort to “appropriate actions” such as filing a suit against the flight crew for breach of contract and seeking the revocation of their licenses before the Civil Aeronautics Board.
But Bautista said PAL was not entertaining these ideas for now.
“The most important thing right now is to resolve the basic issue of pilot availability,” he said, adding however, that “if the pilots will not heed our appeal to return to work within the specified period, the company will seek proper remedies.” Last night, Cabinet officials led by Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Jose de Jesus met with representatives of the 25 resigned pilots of PAL.
At least four representatives attended the meeting – one for the Airline Pilots’ Association of the Philippines, and another on behalf of the resigned pilots.
The government panel was composed of De Jesus, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Tourism Secretary Albert Lim, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, Customs Commissioner Lito Alvarez, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Angel Honrado and representatives from the Civil Aviation Board and Bureau of Immigration and Deportation.
“After the meeting, we had a better appreciation of the pilots’ situation but we can’t disclose the details yet until we have talked to the PAL management and after the two parties meet. The objective is to get them to talk together and resolve the issue as soon as possible,” de Jesus said.
He confirmed that low pay and working conditions are among the pilots’ grievances.
“We are all looking for a solution that is of the best interest of the riding public,” Lacierda said as he clarified that a government takeover of PAL is a very remote option.
De Lima said an actual takeover is the government's last resort to end the conflict.
“It’s an extreme measure. But it does not mean na hindi pwede ito. Depende sa situation,” she said.
On Monday, PAL executives led by its chairman and CEO Lucio C. Tan briefed De Jesus and other Palace officials regarding PAL’s current situation following the sudden resignation of 13 captains and 12 first officers that affected some of its domestic and international flights.
The the pilots resigned without giving management the 180-day notice as provided under their contracts or terms of agreement.
“There is no labor dispute as far as the pilots are concerned. Their main reason for leaving is purely on financial or economic reasons,” Bautista explained. “All we are asking is for the pilots to honor their contracts consistent with regulations issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) in 2006.”
As “Mission Critical Skills”, pilots and airline mechanics are required under POEA Memorandum Circular No. 3 Series of 2006 to give their local employers 180 days to train their replacements and adjust flight schedules.
Lacierda, meanwhile, admitted that government is studying its options in case an amicable settlement is not reached but declined to elaborate.
“We are hoping the parties will resolve this thing amicably. We have listened to side separately. There is no worst case scenario for now,” he said.
Cebu Pacific moves in
Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific (CEB) is filling the void left open by PAL.
CEB announced Tuesday that they will increase their flights to the affected destinations as it increases flight frequencies to several international destinations as part of its expansion plan in the Asia-Pacific region.
The expansion program includes an additional Wednesday from Manila to Kota Kinabalu beginning October 20 and daily flights from Manila to Taipei and from Cebu to Singapore starting October 31, among others. (Anjo Perez, Genalyn Kabiling, Kris Bayos and Jeamma Sabate)
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