The protracted standoff between Customs, immigration and quarantine personnel at Naia and Mactan International Airport on one hand and the Board of Airline Representatives on the other over the issue of overtime pay may come to a head sooner than expected. Airlines, both domestic and foreign, still refuse to cover these employees’ overtime pay despite the fact that this has been the practice for the past 35 years.
I have been told that Customs, immigration and quarantine personnel at the two international airports have decided to stop working beyond the eight-hour period required of them as government personnel.
Since Customs is the one that opens doors for airlines coming in and going out, and immigration is the one that clears visas upon entry, the issue has international repercussions. And all because domestic and foreign airlines have utter disregard for the rule of law.
The crisis started when the Court of Appeals ruled that overtime pay for Customs, immigration and quarantine constituted “double compensation” and was therefore illegal. A motion for reconsideration was filed. Since the matter involved a constitutional question, it could even be elevated to the Supreme Court.
But the Board of Airline Representatives, headed by the Philippine Air Lines, decided instead to stop paying the overtime charges disregarding the fact that doing so was a violation of the rule of law. The Board has even demanded that the overtime pay should come from an additional $1 terminal fee, and that it should be government that should pay the overtime, which is an impossible demand since the national budget does not envision overtime pay for Customs, immigration and quarantine. The airlines even tried to offer paying only 50 percent—a clear slap on the face of Customs, immigration and quarantine.
Unless this crisis is resolved soon, the country’s tourism, attempts to attract foreign investment and its image are doomed to suffer. The President must step in. There is too much at stake. –Emil Jurado, Manila Standard Today
March –
IT’S WOMEN’S MONTH!
“Respect and support women
every day of the year/s!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the recommendations of the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry
against serious violations of protocols of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association.
Accept the National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands
#Report Corruption #SearchPosts #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
Women’s Role in History Month
Weekly Observances:
Week 1: Environmental Week;
Women’s Week
Week 3: Philippine Industry and “
Made-in-the-Philippines Products Week
Last Week: Protection and Gender-Fair Treatment
of the Girl Child Week
Daily Observances:
March 8: Women’s Rights and
International Peace Day;
National Women’s Day
March 4: Employee Appreciation Day
March 15: World Consumer Rights Day
March 18: Global Recycling Day
March 21: International Day for the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination
March 23: International Day for the Right to the Truth
Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations
and for the Dignity of Victims
March 25: International Day of Remembrance of the
Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
March 27: Earth Hour
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