Aura Marie P. Dagcutan
Posted on 10:03 PM, September 29, 2010
BusinessWorld
FLIGHT attendants and stewards of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) withdrew from conciliation meetings with the carrier’s management on Tuesday, and have begun preparations for a strike between the end of October and the first week of November.
Robert Anduiza, president of the PAL-Flight Attendants’ and Stewards’ Association of the Philippines (FASAP), said talks at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) over a new collective bargaining deal were “deadlocked.”
“The strike will happen between the end of October and the first week of November after the mandated cooling-off period and the holding of the strike vote,” he said.
The Labor department, however, can assume jurisdiction over the dispute on the ground of national interest to prevent a strike and force both sides to compromise.
PAL spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna said in a statement yesterday the management had called on the DoLE to take immediate steps to avert the strike.
“It is the union that is playing hardball, dismissing outright management’s offers without even a second glance,” said Ms. Villaluna.
Mr. Anduiza pointed out that during the DoLE conciliation meetings, FASAP limited its issues to only three items, focused mainly on age and gender discrimination.
“PAL is playing games and is insisting on its unreasonable retirement age limit. [It is] not serious in resolving the dispute. PAL is just playing deaf and blind to the concerns of the flight attendants,” he said.
The group claimed PAL added more conditions to “muddle the issue and ... make more money out of the dispute.”
“Its proposals to move the retirement age from 40 to 45 on condition of drastic work-rule changes to mix the domestic and international operations will result to retrenchment and mega-profits for PAL,” FASAP said.
It added: “PAL wants to paint itself as reasonable but the real motive is to exploit the flight attendants.”
Mr. Anduiza said the issue was not money but discrimination.
“The Philippine Commission on Women has already pronounced that PAL’s policy towards its female flight attendants is discriminatory. The Commission on Human Rights chair, Ms. Etta Rosales, has also pointed out that PAL’s retirement, pregnancy and maternity provisions for flight attendants are sexist and discriminatory, in violation of their human rights,” he said.
The group also claimed the management has been refusing to correct flight attendants’ basic salaries to meet minimum wage levels.
FASAP said that during the conciliation meetings on Tuesday, a DoLE representative presented the correct minimum wage levels from the years 2000 up to the present.
“It clearly showed that the PAL flight attendants’ entry level pay of P8,605 is way, way below the present P12,288 minimum wage,” Mr. Anduiza said.
“We believe that PAL can well afford to pay and settle the labor dispute based on the hundreds of millions PAL has saving due to the under-manning of crew per flight. The crew are already working more and are being paid less. The problem is PAL does not want to prioritize taking care of the flight attendants.”
Lucio C. Tan-led PAL said there should be no disruption in operations as a strike will not happen overnight. “Management is asking DoLE to immediately step in to avert the strike and protect the interests of the riding public,” said Ms. Villaluna.
“It was upon DoLE’s recommendation that PAL and FASAP agreed to a recess and to meet again next week. PAL management was surprised by FASAP’s sudden turnaround by announcing their decision to strike.”
She said PAL was negotiating in good faith and had bent backwards to accommodate some of FASAP’s demands.
PAL’s P105-million offer is “hardly unreasonable considering the airline’s staggering losses in the last two years,” she added.
“PAL even agreed to increase the retirement age to 45 from 40 if the union would allow junior cabin crew members to fly international along with their senior counterparts,” Ms. Villaluna said.
“Contrary to FASAP’s claims, there will be no layoffs as a result of the mixed crew scheme. There will also be no reduction in flight assignments and pay of international cabin attendants. Why is FASAP so averse to the idea of their younger members earning a little more?”
Ms. Villaluna also said PAL’s early retirement age was benchmarked to other carriers in the region.
“PAL maintains that while the early retirement age is negotiable, it is by no means illegal nor immoral,” she said.
Labor department officials could not be reached for comment. --
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