INQUIRER.net
First Posted 12:35:00 09/07/2010
MANILA, Philippines—Key members of the House Committee on Tourism have appealed to protesting Philippine Airlines (PAL) employees to call off their planned strike, warning that the move could spell the collapse of the country’s tourism industry.
In a news release, Representatives Florencio T. Miraflores (LP, Aklan) and Alfredo Benitez (NPC, Negros Occidental) said a work stoppage in the country’s flag carrier is the last thing that the tourism industry needs as it smarts from the adverse impact of the tragic Quirino grandstand hostage incident that resulted in the killing of eight Hong Kong tourists.
The two solons called on PAL management and the protesting workers not to abandon the negotiating table, saying that resorting to drastic measures such as staging a strike is "counter productive."
Miraflores, committee chairman, said he expects government to intervene should the labor issue turn for the worse and adversely affect the country’s economy and international reputation.
“At this point, a PAL strike will only exacerbate the situation and scare more foreign tourists. Sana huwag muna dagdagan ang problema (Hopefully they won’t add to the problem). It’s hurting us already,” said Miraflores.
The Aklan lawmaker confirmed reports that resort and hotel owners in the country, especially in Boracay, which is part of his congressional district, are feeling the brunt of the hostage crisis.
“Chinese tourists have started to shy away from our resorts because they obey whatever their government says. We have to work very hard to convince China to lift the travel advisory against Philippines,” he said.
Benitez, a member of the tourism panel, supported Miraflores’s view, saying that the Department of Tourism should launch aggressive promotional campaigns to resuscitate the ailing tourism industry. He said a strike that would cripple international travel is a major setback to government’s efforts to lure back tourists.
“RP needs all the help. PAL and its employees should put on hold any action that will hamper flight operations,” Benitez said.
It will be recalled that the Flight Attendants' and Stewards' Association of the Philippines (Fasap) has been threatening to file a notice of strike for the past several weeks after rejecting PAL's offered P80-million compensation package.
Apart from the pay hike, the cabin crews are also seeking amendments of CBA provisions setting an early retirement age for flight attendants.
PAL meanwhile, insists that it could not offer more that P80 million due to its current financial difficulties which are also being experienced by other airlines in the world.
On the other hand, the PAL Employees' Association (Palea), PAL's rank and file union, is also threatening to stage a strike if and when the Department of Labor and Employment will sustain its earlier ruling recognizing PAL management's prerogative to "spin-off" three of the airline's non-core units.
The threatened mass actions of the two unions will likely disrupt domestic and international schedules of the flag carrier and will deal a blow to the already reduced tourist arrivals.
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