DOLE Secretary to Handle PAL Labor Issue

October 6, 2010, 8:08am
Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III said Tuesday that Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz will assume jurisdiction of the labor row between flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) and its cabin crew union after the last ditch conciliation talks bogged down.
Aquino said in a press briefing that the riding public should not panic since the planned strike of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) will not immediately take place.

"The DOLE Secretary will assume jurisdiction, but we should not panic. Let us not think that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, the PAL strike will happen," he said.

Aquino expressed hope that the labor dispute could still be resolved during the 30-day period.He said that his administration is not yet thinking of implementing the open skies policy as this is still being studied.

"We are not yet in an irreconcilable (situation). There is no anticipated damage yet on the economy by the lost of the carrier capacity," the President explained.

Aquino earlier threatened that the implementation of the open skies policy could be hastened if PAL and FASAP failed to resolve their dispute.

The 1,600-FASAP members have been raising issues on retirement age and financial benefits in their collective bargaining agreement. The PAL management offered a counter proposal, which the union members turned down.