Manila Standard
Thursday, October 31, 1996
Disgruntled employees of Philippine Airlines (PAL) staged a wildcat strike early last night partially paralyzing operations at the domestic airport and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and threatening to affect all other regional offices by today.
Bong Peña, National Secretary of the striking PAL Employees' Association (PALEA), told the Manila Standard union officials decided to go on strike effective 6 o'clock last night.
PALEA, along with the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) and the Airline Pilots Association of the Philippines (ALPAP), defied an earlier order by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) not to proceed with their protest action after the department assumed jurisdiction over the labor row at the airline.
The PAL union's decision to go on wildcat strike came only a few hours after President Ramos appealed to the union to call off its planned walkout and accept the airline management's offer to distribute company shares of stock as a substitute for economic demands.
Reports from the Manila Domestic Airport (MDA) said "some PAL pilots have sympathized with PALEA and have decided to join the sit-down strike."
At presstime last night, reports said all the 13 scheduled domestic flights were already cancelled. This was confirmed by MDA Flight Operations Chief Mariano Salazar.
The mass action was expected to create a major logjam today with PAL having an average of 85 flights coming in and out of MDA every day.
At the NAIA, there is an average of 110 incoming and outgoing international flights a day.
Worse, passenger volume would be far greater than the usual because of the forthcoming All Saints' Day break.
Airport officials said the strike could not have come at a worse time since airports around the world were currently shifting from summer to winter schedules.
Critical period
"This is a very critical period for us. We are still in the process of adjusting our schedules to time our flights with those of other airlines and airports. But given the situation, we are trying our best to cope," said Alvin Candelaria, Officer-in-Charge of the NAIA ground operations division.
Five other international flights of KLM, Cathay Pacific, Egypt Air, Air Nauru and Kuwaiti Air were also delayed because of the PALEA strike.
Candelaria said all arriving passengers last night experienced difficulty claiming their baggage after most of the baggage handlers also walked out.
According to Peña, workers walked out of their stations at the MDA, NAIA, PAL technical center and in the airports in Mactan, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Gen. Santos, Bacolod, Legaspi and Naga.
In Manila, the striking PALEA employees have put up barricades in five points, particularly the two gates at the PAL in-flight center which is considered the nerve center of the airline where the catering division and dispatch center for all flight attendants are located.
Peña said they have started stocking up on food provisions as they prepare for a long haul after a standoff in collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations with PAL management.
He added they filed a notice of strike with (DoLE) yesterday morning.
The President said there was no need for him to mediate in the dispute since the DOLE has assumed jurisdiction over the case.
As of presstime last night, the PAL management has not issued any statement.
Mr. Ramos has earlier indicated the government will not allow a strike at the nation's flag carrier shortly before or during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit next month.
He said his instruction to Labor Secretary Leonardo Quisumbing is to see to it that PAL management and employees exhaust all means under their collective bargaining agreement by which the dispute could be amicably resolved.
Contempt charges
The labor department is set to hear the contempt charges filed by PALEA against the airline management. Undersecretary Jose Español of the labor relations office said the hearing is set on Nov. 5, at which PAL management is expected to also air its side.
On O'ct. 28, PALEA filed a complaint citing in particular Jose Antonio Garcia, PAL President and CEO Chief, for violations of the assumption of jurisdiction (AJ) orders issued by Secretary Quisumbing.
Quisumbing first assumed jurisdiction over the labor dispute Oct. 18, banning management from locking out workers and the workers from staging a strike. On Oct. 24, he issued a second AJ ordering both sides from taking steps which would worsen the dispute and derail the CBA talks.
"By addressing individual financial package which ought to have been properly offered at the bargaining table, they undermined PALEA as the certified bargaining agent of the company's ground staff and sowed confusion among its members," Arno Sanidad, PALEA legal counsel, said.
Philippine Airlines' management said it is saddened by the decision of the PAL Employees' Association to defy the law by staging an illegal strike early tonight.
As of 7 p.m. (Oct. 30), eight international flights were cancelled. Thirteen domestic flights including three bound for Cebu, two for Iloilo and one for Bacolod were also cancelled.
PAL management said it would reduce domestic flights on sectors where a competing domestic carrier is operating and redirect existing resources to points where PAL is the sole carrier.
This is part of management's contingency measures to minimize inconveniences to passengers and ensure continuous air transport service to the provinces, PAL said in a statement. (Angle Rosales and Fel V. Maragay)
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