Work stoppage at PAL unlikely, says airline official

MANILA, Philippines - Work stoppage at the country’s flag carrier is highly unlikely even after efforts to settle the prevailing labor dispute between Philippine Airlines (PAL) management and flight attendants and stewards bogged down yesterday.

PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) would definitely take necessary and appropriate action to prevent any labor dispute from disrupting the airline’s operations.

“Strike cannot happen because DOLE would definitely not allow any disruption in PAL’s operations,” Bautista said shortly after the failed preventive mediation meeting with Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) members.

Under labor laws, workers are barred from staging a strike once DOLE assumes jurisdiction over a pending labor case.

But Bautista expressed confidence that PAL management and FASAP, through the intervention of DOLE’s National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), would soon reach a settlement.

FASAP sought NCMB’s intervention when their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations with PAL management ended in a deadlock.

During yesterday’s meeting, PAL management offered an P80-million one-time payment to settle the remaining economic issues in the proposed 2005-2010 CBA with FASAP.

PAL said the “one-time” P80-million package is the only amount it could offer the union due to the company’s dire fiscal condition.

Bautista said it is up to FASAP to determine how it will divide the P80 million among its 1,600 members.

PAL emphasized that it lost almost $320 million (over P15 billion) in the last two fiscal years due to the global economic crisis exacerbated by the spike in fuel prices, the downgrade of the Philippines’ aviation safety rating to Category 2 by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the European blacklist of all Philippine carriers.

“We hope FASAP members will understand PAL’s predicament and accept the offer. While we recognize their desire for higher compensation, PAL’s current financial situation will not allow it to offer more,” Bautista said.

FASAP: Not just about money

But FASAP rejected PAL’s proposal, claiming it does not address the main issues in their proposed CBA – to resolve the retirement and gender discrimination of flight attendants.

FASAP officials said they are even willing to forgo their financial demands if only PAL management would agree to their position to increase the retirement age of flight attendants and stewards.

Bautista said PAL management would rather set aside the retirement and gender discrimination issues until the next CBA because the affected workers are scheduled to retire in 2018.

He added that PAL management is willing to hold a marathon meeting with FASAP just to settle the disputes. PAL would also release the P80-million financial benefits as soon as FASAP accepts their offer, he said.

However, FASAP vice president Andy Ortega rejected the idea and said that it is important to tackle the retirement issue now rather than wait for the next CBA.

In an interview with ANC, Ortega said the 1,600 strong FASAP is prepared to launch a “legal” strike if nothing happens with the negotiations.

PAL management, on the other hand, expressed its desire to move discussions on the retirement age issue to the 2010-2015 CBA, saying the priority is to put closure to the previous CBA, which has dragged on for the past three years.

Bautista explained that there is more than enough time to discuss the retirement age provisions and issues.

Bautista likewise noted that filing of legal case against the 26 pilots who resigned from the company is not a priority for PAL at this time.

He said PAL would like to focus on training new pilots and look at other measures to resolve the pilot shortage instead of filing legal complaints.

“We are all aware that most airlines in the world, including PAL, have been affected and continue to be affected by the global recession and slowdown in travel. We hope our fellow PAL workers will understand that we are dealing with the worst crisis that hit the global airline industry, crippling even the giant airlines of developed economies,” Bautista pointed out.

PAL reduces flights

Meanwhile, PAL clarified that its reduced flight schedule beginning Aug. 9 is not due to the recent resignation of its 26 pilots, but attributable to the onset of “lean months.”

Jonathan Gesmundo, editorial consultant of PAL’s Corporate Communications Department, said during a press briefing in Bacolod that “the new flight schedule is to further optimize operational efficiency as the travel sector enters the lean season.”

“Although it coincided with the reduced number of PAL pilots who left for jobs abroad, the suspension, not cancellation, of flights is due to low demand,” he said.

The lean season schedules take effect Aug. 9 up to Nov. 30, 2010.

“Capacity rationalization is routinely done in anticipation of lower passenger volume, especially tourists, during the rainy months from August to November,” Bautista said in a statement.

Gesmundo explained that during the low season, airline companies normally introduce promotional programs to stimulate passenger travel. It is also during this time that PAL schedules major maintenance checks on its airplanes. – Danny Dangcalan, Mary Ann Reyes