PAL, FSAP talks fail

Aura Marie P. Dagcutan and Ana Mae G. Roa
Posted on 04:38 PM, October 05, 2010
BusinessWorld

LAST-DITCH EFFORTS to settle a row between Philippine Airlines (PAL) and its flight attendant and steward union failed on Tuesday even as the government prepares to assume jurisdiction over the case to resolve the conflict.
Robert Anduiza, president of the Flight Attendants’ and Stewards’ Association of the Philippines (FASAP), told BusinessWorld in a telephone interview that the mediation meeting at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board ended in a deadlock.

"The mediation failed. PAL management's last chance to come clean failed. The management decided to stand firm on [its] previous offers of moving the retirement age from 40 to 45 years old and the one-time P105-million economic package covering 2007-2010," he said.

FASAP has demanded retirement age of 60 and a new collective bargaining agreement, contrary to PAL's offer of a one-time package to cover the absence of an agreement between 2007 and 2010.

The group also said that if it were to accept the one-time package the amount should be raised to P250 million which will compensate for higher wage and rice allowance.

"We did not give in. We will push through [with] the strike by the last week of October to first week of November," Mr. Anduiza said.

He said FASAP will file next week a notice with the Department of Labor and Employment on the group's decision to stage a strike, including a list of members who favored the strike.

"Under the law, a union is required to get at least half of total membership to proceed to the strike. We already have the 50% of the 1,600 members of PAL-FASAP," he said.

President Benigno C. Aquino III, meanwhile, told reporters in an ambush interview at the Palace that the Labor department will assume jurisdiction over the case.

"The Labor department will assume jurisdiction. Let us not panic. We are not yet irreconcilable. There is still no anticipated damage to the economy by the loss of the carrier capacity. So we are hoping this can be resolved and we won't need to go to the open skies policy because it's still being studied completely," he said, referring to allowing other foreign carriers to take up the slack from PAL's possible inability to full serve customers due to the labor conflict.

PAL management has yet to issue a comment on the case. --