Management offer fails to break impasse at PAL

A NEW offer from management failed to break the impasse at Philippine Airlines (PAL) after the flag-carrier’s flight attendants and stewards rejected the proposed settlement. PAL on Monday offered a “one-time” P80-million package to its 1,600 flight attendants and stewards to settle a labor dispute.

In a statement, the airline said the P80-million package is the only amount it could offer them for their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) covering the period 2005 to 2010.

The Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines’ (FASAP) CBA expired on July 2007.

PAL also promised to speed up the union’s 2010 to 2015 CBA.

The offer was made at the resumption of talks between the airline’s management and officers of FASAP at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB).

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

Andy Ortega, FASAP vice president, however said that management’s proposal failed to address the real problems raised by the organization.

“It [PAL’s offer] doesn’t address the retirement age of the flight attendants,” he said, adding that the P80 million was way below what management offered to the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) members, which groups the carrier’s ground personnel.

“To address the minimum wage distortion, it will take almost the entire amount . . . and the P20 million for the salary increases for three years,” Ortega said.

The total back pay for the FASAP mebers will cost around P160 million, he said.

The group earlier threatened a strike after PAL management’s failure to raise their salary for more than three years, as well as its decision to lower the compulsory retirement age.

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

PAL lost almost $320 million or over P15 billion in the last two fiscal years due to the global economic crisis coupled with spikes 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 offer more,” Bautista said.

He said management would also move discussions on the retirement age issue for the 2010 to 2015 CBA, adding that the priority is to put a closure to the previous CBA which has dragged on for the past three years.

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

He said a 22-year-old flight attendant who was hired by PAL in the year 2000 will only turn 40 in 2018, while those who were 22 when hired by PAL in 1996, will only turn 45 by 2019.

Under the existing CBA, male and female flight attendants who were hired before November 1996 would be retired once they reach 60 and 55 years old, respectively. Those hired from 1996 and beyond would be retired at age 45 for both males and females.

Hires made after November 2000 would be retired by the age of 40 for both males and females.

As a sign of good faith, Bautista said PAL management is willing to conduct marathon meetings with FASAP for the 2010 to 2015 CBA.

“The immediate goal now is to put closure to the 2005 to 2010 CBA, which has become a major source of misunderstanding between management and FASAP,” he said.

The labor strife involving flight attendants comes at a time when PAL has yet to resolve a separate issue involving the premature resignation of 26 pilots who have opted for jobs in foreign carriers. –DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER, Manila Times