PAL urged to take steps to avert strike

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Airlines (PAL) urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to take immediate steps to avert a strike by its flight attendants.

“PAL would like to assure our passengers that a strike will not happen overnight. Management is asking DOLE to immediately step in to avert the strike and protect the interests of the riding public,” PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said.

The Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) announced yesterday that their 1,600 members are now preparing for a strike to paralyze operations of PAL after talks over salary and working conditions broke down.

“It was upon DOLE’s recommendation that PAL and FASAP agreed to a recess and to meet again next week. PAL management was surprised by FASAP’s sudden turnaround by announcing their decision to strike,” Villaluna stressed.

She said PAL has been negotiating in good faith and has bent backwards to accommodate some of FASAP’s demands. “It is the union that is playing hardball, dismissing outright management’s offers without even a second glance,” she said.

Villaluna explained that PAL’s P105-million offer is hardly unreasonable considering the airline’s staggering losses in the last two years. PAL, she added, even agreed to increase the retirement age from 40 to 45 years if the union would allow junior cabin crew to fly international routes along with their senior counterparts.

“Contrary to FASAP’s claims, there will be no layoffs as a result of the mixed crew scheme. There will also be no reduction in flight assignments and pay of international cabin attendants. Why is FASAP so averse to the idea of their younger members earning a little more?” Villaluna asked.

She added that PAL’s early retirement age is benchmarked to other carriers in the region. “PAL maintains that while the early retirement age is negotiable, it is by no means illegal nor immoral,” she said.

Bob Anduiza, FASAP president, said the cabin crew union already rejected more conciliation talks with management and the workers are now ready to stage a strike.

“It has become clearer now that FASAP is left with no choice but to definitely proceed with the planned strike,” Anduiza said after pulling out from negotiations with PAL management last Tuesday night.

The National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) said that both parties failed to come up with a compromise that resulted in a deadlock.

NCMB said PAL and FASAP representatives agreed to revisit their respective positions even though both parties expressed reservation over resuming talks.

Anduiza said PAL management has not presented any new offer and refused to provide higher compensation, continuing to reject their demand to abolish the 40-year-old retirement age and other sexist policies.

He explained that PAL’s previous offer of a P105-million financial package is still insufficient to cover the back wages of more than 500 flight attendants who are receiving salaries below the minimum wage.

Anduiza said the NCMB presented the correct minimum wage levels from the year 2000 up to the present during the meeting with PAL management.

“The advisory from the labor department clearly showed that the PAL flight attendants’ entry level pay of P8,605 is way, way below the present P12,288 minimum wage and yet management refused to come out with any new offer,” Anduiza said.

“FASAP finds no need to meet with PAL and will now concentrate on preparing for the strike,” he added.

He said FASAP would likely start the work stoppage to paralyze PAL’s operations by the end of October or early November.

As this developed, Villaluna said PAL is preparing emergency measures in case the cabin crew push through with the strike.

“PAL is hopeful that DOLE will immediately step in to avert any work stoppage that can wreak havoc on the economy,” said Villaluna.

She added that from day one, FASAP has not shown any intention to consider anything short of their demands.

“A negotiation is like a two-way street; it’s give and take. It’s very difficult to deal and negotiate with a party who only wants things to go their way,” Villaluna stressed.

PAL’s corporate communication head Jonathan Guismundo said the company is still open for talks with FASAP members and the firm still expects a settlement of the labor dispute.

“Until this time PAL and FASAP are still looking for a middle ground, PAL has not shut the door and is willing to discuss issues with the flight attendants,” Guismundo pointed out.

PAL president Jaime Bautista, however, said they are pushing for a mixed-crew complement to allow both domestic and international crews to work side-by-side.

He said the proposed scheme would give domestic cabin attendants the recognition they deserve apart from giving international exposure as well as enable PAL to save on operational cost.

Meanwhile, some PAL flight attendants welcomed the management proposal to implement mixed crew assignments during mediation talks between the management and FASAP.

Most PAL cabin attendants flying domestic routes said the mixed crew assignment, which would allow younger crew members on domestic flights to work international flights alongside their senior counterparts, would translate to additional productivity pay, per diems and other allowances for younger crew members.

The proposed mixed crew complement is a precondition to raising the retirement age of crew members from 40 to 45 years old.

“Even before I became a PAL flight attendant, it was my dream to fly international, to see other countries and enjoy the perks of flying international,” said Sharon (not her real name), who was hired by PAL soon after graduating from an exclusive girls school.

Both new and senior cabin crew undergo recurrent training with strict standards on the level of service they perform in flight.

A younger cabin crew would need at least two to three weeks of additional training and familiarization with aircraft and equipment before he/she can fly international.

“We believe that our training allows us to serve on international flights. We know our role as safety officers and we also have complete training on both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft,” she said.                                      

The cabin crew union and PAL’s international flight attendants are resisting the mix-crew rule because of the additional perks that the crew receives on long-haul flights.– With Rudy Santos