PAL faces strike, complaints

THE Philippines’ flag carrier is besieged by a looming labor strike and complaints by travel agencies of unfair business practices.

Flight attendants of Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Wednesday announced a plan to hold a strike after management’s failure to raise their salary for more than three years and its new policy lowering the compulsory retirement age. “For three years now, FASAP [Flight Attendants’ and Stewards’ Association of the Philippines] has been bending over-backwards and has given PAL more than enough time. The CBA [collective bargaining agreement] expired July 2007 and for the past years only FASAP members have not been granted any pay increase,” Roberto Anduiza, president of PAL-FASAP said in a statement.

For the years 2007 and 2008, PAL gave pay increases to members of management, the pilots and other ground personnel, except the flight attendants, he said.

“PAL management has not submitted its complete CBA counter proposals as mandated by law and despite numerous promises to do so during the Preventive Mediation proceedings before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board at the Department of Labor and Employment,” Anduiza said.

The group also scored PAL’s policy on lowering the compulsory retirement age.

“PAL cannot continue to turn a blind eye to inequality. PAL should correct this discriminatory policy instead of using it as bargaining chip against the flight attendants,” Anduiza said.

He said the other employees are allowed to work until 65 years old, whereas pilots should retire by 60.

But for flight attendants, the compulsory retirement age is as early as 40 years old. “FASAP has more than enough legal basis and documentation to file a Notice of Strike,” Anduiza said. Representatives of PAL were unavailable for comment as of press time.

In April, PAL decided to let go of at least 3,000 employees with the spin-off of its three core businesses.

PAL said it was forced to implement the restructuring plan because of the global recession, high fuel prices, the unabated liberalization of the commercial aviation industry, and the recent blacklisting of Philippine carriers by the European Union.

Travel agencies hit online promos

Separately, travel agencies scored PAL’s online promos, calling these unfair.

In a letter dated July 26 to PAL chief commercial group adviser Richard Miller, Ma. Paz Alberto, Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) president, said the airline’s “incessant” offerings of travel and tour promos and packages “is in direct contravention with the well-established and long-existing business practice/principle that has always been observed by and between the country’s travel agencies and the nation’s leading airline companies such as PAL.”

“The association’s membership . . . opines that [such] practice . . . by PAL is not entirely in consonance with the concepts of fair play, fair competition and equity,” Alberto said.

“[These] promos/packages are not in conformity with the long-established understanding between the travel and tours industry vis-à-vis the airline companies such as PAL . . . that there shall be no unfair competition between the said entities and that each and every business practice must carefully take into consideration not just the economic and beneficial welfare of the airlines concerned but also as the inherent rights and existing business interests of the country’s travel agents and agencies,” she said.

Alberto said PTAA is requesting PAL to modify or discontinue its online promo packages to “preserve the untarnished and harmonious business relationship” between the airline and the industry association.

She said PTAA would seek talks with PAL on this matter. –DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER AND Ben Arnold O. de Vera REPORTER, Manila Times