Agence France-Presse
First Posted 10/01/2010
MANILA, Philippines—The government has called for a meeting between Philippine Airlines and its cabin crew union in a bid to avert a strike that could ground the national flag-carrier, officials said Thursday.
The government's mediation board hopes that both sides can still reach an agreement at the meeting, to be held within the next few days, and prevent the strike taking place in late-October, said Department of Labor and Employment spokeswoman Lolit Abonitalla.
"They are not pushing through with their strike yet. That depends on the October 5 negotiation," she said.
The vice-president of the 1,600-strong cabin crew union, Andy Ortega, said his organization would attend the meeting but stressed that the preparations for the strike would still continue.
Ortega told AFP that he expects the airline (PAL) to take a "hardline position" which will make a settlement unlikely.
The Flight Attendants' Association of the Philippines (FASAP) had announced on Wednesday that they would go on strike at the end of October, saying that PAL management had repeatedly rejected its demands for a pay rise.
They are also demanding paid maternity leave and an end to a company policy that forces female attendants to retire at the age of 40.
By law, the government has 30 days after a strike is announced to try to find a compromise.
PAL management previously said they are taking contingency measures in case of a strike.
The planned strike is the latest in a string of labor problems to hit the airline.
Last month, 25 pilots and first officers on PAL's short-haul aircraft suddenly quit for higher paying jobs abroad, forcing the abrupt cancellation of several flights.
In 1998, PAL shut down all operations after a dispute with its ground staff amid massive losses caused by the Asian financial crisis.
The government subsequently brokered a deal that allowed the carrier to gradually rebuild its services while going into temporary receivership.
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