By Paolo Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:17:00 12/17/2009
PHILIPPINE Airlines may soon mount flights to the Middle East again to meet the growing demand for the flag carrier to return to the region, which millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) call home.
PAL expands Australian operations
Last week, local air transport officials reached a deal with their foreign counterparts for additional air rights between Oman and the Philippines.
The agreement will allow both Oman and local airlines to mount flights between the two countries.
The new deal allotted additional flights to Oman from Manila and Cebu. Carriers may now also fly to Oman from Clark and Davao as a result of the new deal.
“That country is a significant market because there are about 50,000 OFWs in Oman,” Arcilla said.
“Right now, it’s very difficult to get there because most flights pass through Abu Dhabi, Qatar or Hong Kong. [With] this deal, we can have direct flights,” he said.
A PAL official confirmed the airline’s planned return to the Middle East. The company earlier stopped flying to the region due to stiff competition from Arab airlines, which are able to offer cheaper tickets given their access to cheaper oil.
Jet fuel makes up nearly 40 percent of PAL’s expenses.
“There were initial plans a couple of months ago to have flights to Abu Dhabi [starting] this December,” the airline executive said in an interview. However, he said the plan fizzled out due to space restrictions in Abu Dhabi.
“Now, the Oman flights can be a real alternative to Abu Dhabi,” he said.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
PAL plans to outsource 4,000 regular jobs
By EMMIE V. ABADILLA
January 19, 2010, 3:21pm
Manila Bulletin
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has to outsource operations and lay off 4,000 regular jobs to cut costs or go bankrupt.
This has been a nagging concern of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA), according to President Edgardo C. Oredina in his letter to PALEA members last month (December, 22, 2009).
Without a new capital infusion, the flag carrier will go bankrupt, the union chief quoted PAL President Jaime J. Bautista as saying to the National Conciliation and Mediation of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) board two months ago.
PAL Chairman Lucio Tan usually infuses capital into the flag carrier as a temporary relief to sustain its operations. But now, the airline plans to outsource some of its operations to avoid being in the red.
PALEA wrote to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo requesting her to intervene to prevent the layoff of thousands of workers, Oredina revealed. When Malacanang did not respond, the union sought the help of DOLE and asked whether it is possible for the government to take over PAL if the need arises.
However, the possibility of a state takeover of the flag carrier is “very remote,” DoLE Secretary Marianito Roque told PALEA. “The government has no capacity to operate an airline.” He assured them instead that DoLE will help on the issue of job preservation and that no worker will be displaced.
PALEA was also concerned that the gains of low fares no frills airlines like Cebu Pacific are the loss of legacy airlines and flag carriers like PAL.
January 19, 2010, 3:21pm
Manila Bulletin
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has to outsource operations and lay off 4,000 regular jobs to cut costs or go bankrupt.
This has been a nagging concern of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA), according to President Edgardo C. Oredina in his letter to PALEA members last month (December, 22, 2009).
Without a new capital infusion, the flag carrier will go bankrupt, the union chief quoted PAL President Jaime J. Bautista as saying to the National Conciliation and Mediation of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) board two months ago.
PAL Chairman Lucio Tan usually infuses capital into the flag carrier as a temporary relief to sustain its operations. But now, the airline plans to outsource some of its operations to avoid being in the red.
PALEA wrote to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo requesting her to intervene to prevent the layoff of thousands of workers, Oredina revealed. When Malacanang did not respond, the union sought the help of DOLE and asked whether it is possible for the government to take over PAL if the need arises.
However, the possibility of a state takeover of the flag carrier is “very remote,” DoLE Secretary Marianito Roque told PALEA. “The government has no capacity to operate an airline.” He assured them instead that DoLE will help on the issue of job preservation and that no worker will be displaced.
PALEA was also concerned that the gains of low fares no frills airlines like Cebu Pacific are the loss of legacy airlines and flag carriers like PAL.
Monday, January 18, 2010
PAL union submits CBA draft
By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:48:00 10/09/2010
MANILA, Philippines—For the first time in 10 years, the ground crew labor union of Philippine Airlines has submitted a collective bargaining agreement proposal to the flag carrier’s management.
Gerry Rivera, Philippine Airlines Employees Association (Palea) president and concurrent vice chairperson of Partido ng Manggagawa, said PAL president Jaime Bautista himself received the proposal on Friday morning.
“This is a momentous event because for more than 10 years there have been no negotiations for the improvement of workers benefits,” Rivera said in a statement.
He said the PAL-Palea CBA was put on moratorium for 10 years in the wake of the bitter 1998 labor dispute that saw a pilots’ and ground crew strike, and the closure of the national flag carrier. The moratorium was extended for two more years under the term of previous union leaderships.
Rivera said the proposal submitted on Friday covers the years 2008 to 2013, saying that the CBA “should retroact to 2008 since the CBA moratorium was only for 10 years not 12.”
“We expect management to respond to our proposal and negotiate in good faith,” Rivera said.
He said the salient points of the CBA proposal include updating and upgrading of the pay scale of PAL employees.
“Too much wage distortion has been done to the pay scale so that there exists not only a severe contraction but to a certain extent an elimination of the quantitative differences between the job grades. We now aim to correct these distortions,” Rivera said.
He said the proposal retains but revises the provision of the old CBA prohibiting contracting out of existing positions, jobs, divisions and departments occupied by present or future regular employees. The proposal improves on the old by explicitly barring outsourcing.
“This particular provision protects job security and union representation. The planned mass layoff of some 3,000 PAL workers is illegal because of this CBA provision,” Rivera said.
He said the CBA proposal also contains provisions that enhance the retirement scheme.
“This is our way of saluting, recognizing and giving tribute to our loyal PAL workers and union members,” Rivera said.
PAL is concurrently negotiating a CBA with its flight crew. The negotiations have been deadlocked, however, on disputes over retirement age and gender discrimination. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has assumed jurisdiction over the case.
Baldoz has also assumed jurisdiction over the PAL-Palea row over the “mass lay off” of the airline’s workers.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:48:00 10/09/2010
MANILA, Philippines—For the first time in 10 years, the ground crew labor union of Philippine Airlines has submitted a collective bargaining agreement proposal to the flag carrier’s management.
Gerry Rivera, Philippine Airlines Employees Association (Palea) president and concurrent vice chairperson of Partido ng Manggagawa, said PAL president Jaime Bautista himself received the proposal on Friday morning.
“This is a momentous event because for more than 10 years there have been no negotiations for the improvement of workers benefits,” Rivera said in a statement.
He said the PAL-Palea CBA was put on moratorium for 10 years in the wake of the bitter 1998 labor dispute that saw a pilots’ and ground crew strike, and the closure of the national flag carrier. The moratorium was extended for two more years under the term of previous union leaderships.
Rivera said the proposal submitted on Friday covers the years 2008 to 2013, saying that the CBA “should retroact to 2008 since the CBA moratorium was only for 10 years not 12.”
“We expect management to respond to our proposal and negotiate in good faith,” Rivera said.
He said the salient points of the CBA proposal include updating and upgrading of the pay scale of PAL employees.
“Too much wage distortion has been done to the pay scale so that there exists not only a severe contraction but to a certain extent an elimination of the quantitative differences between the job grades. We now aim to correct these distortions,” Rivera said.
He said the proposal retains but revises the provision of the old CBA prohibiting contracting out of existing positions, jobs, divisions and departments occupied by present or future regular employees. The proposal improves on the old by explicitly barring outsourcing.
“This particular provision protects job security and union representation. The planned mass layoff of some 3,000 PAL workers is illegal because of this CBA provision,” Rivera said.
He said the CBA proposal also contains provisions that enhance the retirement scheme.
“This is our way of saluting, recognizing and giving tribute to our loyal PAL workers and union members,” Rivera said.
PAL is concurrently negotiating a CBA with its flight crew. The negotiations have been deadlocked, however, on disputes over retirement age and gender discrimination. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has assumed jurisdiction over the case.
Baldoz has also assumed jurisdiction over the PAL-Palea row over the “mass lay off” of the airline’s workers.
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