Gabriela supports PAL stewardesses

By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 10/02/2010

MANILA, Philippines—By “standing tall” and upholding the dignity of women even amid threats of losing their jobs, members of the Flight Attendants’ and Stewards’ Association of the Philippines (Fasap) have earned the respect and admiration of a women’s party-list group in Congress.
“Flight attendants have much to gain by standing tall and claiming their rights, most of all, their dignity as women,” said Gabriela Representative Emerenciana A. de Jesus in a statement.

She said Gabriela was throwing its support behind Fasap after the latter stood pat on its planned strike that could paralyze the operations of national flag-carrier Philippine Airlines.

Fasap last Wednesday announced that it would go on strike after PAL repeatedly rejected its major demands, particularly on paid maternity leaves and an end to a controversial company policy that forces female flight attendants to retire at the age of 40.

“The fight of the flight attendants and stewards is a fight that all Filipino women should support as it is clearly a case of gender discrimination,” said De Jesus.

The lawmaker said the labor dispute was a test case for the country’s labor laws.
She said that Fasap should be commended for “standing true to its commitment to uphold the rights of its female members."

PAL’s policies, she said, treated female stewards as “eye candy for passengers, and not the safety personnel that they primarily are.”

“We should also emphasize that all Filipino workers, whether female or male, should stand behind Fasap’s fight because it is also a fight against a big capitalist who thinks he is bigger than the law and can do anything just so he can extract super-profits from the workers of PAL,” she added.
PAL is owned by the Lucio Tan group.

She called on Fasap to stand firm and continue to fight for the rights of its members against discrimination and economic exploitation.

On Friday, the Department of Labor and Employment said it was prepared to ban the planned strike, citing the "national interest."

A final round of talks between PAL and its flight attendants’ union is set for October 5.
The talks, which have been going on for years now, are being mediated by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board. The labor secretary has not yet assumed jurisdiction over the case.
However, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has already said that she could invoke her “reserve power” to assume jurisdiction over the dispute, which would make the planned strike illegal.
“We are (looking) after the interest of the riding public. PAL is still the national carrier and there is the national interest to protect,” she said. If an agreement is still not reached, the secretary could decide on the dispute, Baldoz said.