DOLE to resolve PAL row this week

MANILA, Philippines –  An early Christmas gift awaits flight attendants of the Philippines Airlines (PAL) after the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced that it will rule on the PAL row this week and hopefully end the labor dispute at the country’s flag carrier this holiday season.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz announced that she would come out with a decision on the PAL Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) labor dispute before Christmas Day.

“I have already given my commitment that the ruling will be released before Christmas,” Baldoz announced at her yearend press conference last Friday night.

FASAP earlier called on Baldoz to hasten the resolution of their labor case against the PAL management.

“Every day, every hour and every minute that passes without addressing the discrimination in PAL, violates the rights of the flight attendants, most especially its women members,” FASAP president Bob Anduiza said.

FASAP has long been negotiating with the PAL management for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that would remove the 40-year-old mandatory retirement age, gender discrimination and higher salaries.

After a failed negotiation, FASAP filed a notice of strike but Baldoz immediately assumed jurisdiction over the dispute, thus preventing the flight attendants from mounting a work stoppage.

Aside from the FASAP case, Baldoz said, there is no other labor case pending before the DOLE concerning the country’s flag carrier.

She said all records on the PAL dispute with the PAL-Employees Association (PALEA) have already been forwarded to the Office of the President.

The PAL-PALEA labor row, she said, is already beyond the DOLE’s jurisdiction since President Aquino already assumed jurisdiction over it.

Baldoz assured PAL passengers that PAL would be strike-free during the holiday season with the labor row between PAL and FASAP to be resolved within the week.