Aura Marie P. Dagcutan
Posted on 08:00 PM, September 12, 2010
BusinessWorld
PHILIPPINE AIRLINES (PAL) is letting the legal process “take its due course” after flight attendants and stewards filed a notice of strike last Thursday to force to flag carrier to improve its offer in collective bargaining talks.
Ma. Cielo C. Villaluna, PAL spokeswoman, said Lucio C. Tan-led airline’s management has yet to decide what it would offer to members of the Flight Attendants’ and Stewards’ Association of the Philippines (FASAP).
“PAL management will strike a balance between what the union desires and what we can afford to give,” she said.
The FASAP filed a notice of strike with the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) following a deadlock over retirement policies and wage increases. The group withdrew from mediation talks with the management last Aug. 18.
“There’s a legal process involved. PAL will let this process take its due course. After filing of a notice of strike there’s a mandatory cooling-off period. This is the time when the [DoLE] will again mediate between the two parties,” Ms. Villaluna said.
“PAL management is leaving it up to DoLE at this point to do what it deemed best under the circumstances.”
FASAP claims the P80-million package offered by the management was not enough for 1,600 members, noting that many members of the cabin crew have not been getting the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, Ms. Villaluna assured passengers PAL’s daily flights to and from domestic and international destinations continue despite the notice of strike.
“[The flights are] unhampered by the labor issues,” she said.
On Friday, President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III reiterated his warning that the implementation of an “open skies” policy would be hastened if PAL and its employees failed to resolve the issue.
Mr. Aquino said he had tasked Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) and DoLE to continue their participation in the mediation process.
There have been moves to notify other airlines for a possible takeover of the routes serviced by PAL in case of a strike.
The airline’s woes mounted after the mass resignation of pilots last July, which prompted PAL to cancel and merge flights. The PAL Employees Association (PALEA) had also threatened to strike over the Labor department’s decision to uphold its plan to outsource three units.
In April, the Labor department assumed jurisdiction over PAL’s dispute with PALEA to prevent a strike. DoLE later upheld the airline’s decision to outsource catering, ground and call center services. --
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