Cabin Crew Aspirants Swamp PAL Offices

By EMMIE V. ABADILLA
October 11, 2010, 4:53pm

MANILA, Philippines —  Despite the Philippine Airlines (PAL)’s unsettled labor problems, aspiring cabin crew still flock in the flag carrier’s recruitment offices by the hundreds daily.

"For the first nine months of the year, we received 20,000 job applications. Our Talent Acquisition, Management and Retention Division accepts an average of 100 applicants a day. For August alone, we processed 3,520 applications," said Jose S.L. Uybarreta, PAL vice president for Human Resources Development.

Of the total number of applicants, he said about half or 9,000 were seeking cabin crew positions.
“PAL recently added two brand new ‘Extended Range’ Boeing 777-300s to its fleet of wide-body aircraft. This led to the promotion of senior cabin crew and opened the door for the hiring and training of new ones,” he explained.

Judging from the daily influx of applicants, Uybarreta believes that PAL’s current labor problems with its cabin crew union have not deterred fresh  graduates from applying with Asia’s first airline.
The labor case between PAL and its cabin crew union the Flight Attendants’ and Stewards’ Association of the Philippines (FASAP) is currently undergoing arbitration before the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).

This was after FASAP rejected management’s offer of R105-million in increased salary and rice allowances, expanded maternity-related benefits and extended retirement age of 45 from the original 40 for both male and female cabin crew. An assumption  order by the labor secretary banned the union from staging a strike.

“PAL maintains a good and competitive track record when it comes to employee salaries and benefits. Hence, FASAP’s unfounded allegations of below-minimum wage pay and gender discrimination do not seem to hold water among aspiring crew members,” Uybarreta stressed.
"If PAL is discriminating or abusing its cabin crew, applicants should outright be disillusioned from entering PAL. But many real-life success stories of our flight attendants fuel dreams of starting a flying career with PAL," he added.