Govt mulls PAL takeover

Public’s interest put above union demands

Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz of the Department of Labor and Employment on Friday warned that the government would assume jurisdiction over a stand-off at Philippine Airlines (PAL) if the row was used by cabin crew of the flag-carrier as a basis for pushing through with their planned strike. Baldoz said that if the airline and its flight attendants’ union failed to reach an agreement next week, she would take over the dispute.

“We are [looking] after the interests of the riding public. PAL is still the national carrier and there is the national interest to protect,” she explained.

So was President Benigno Aquino 3rd, who will “not sacrifice” air travelers if PAL management and the flag-carrier’s cabin crew failed to settle their labor issues amicably, Malacañang said also on Friday.

Spokesman Edwin Lacierda told a Palace briefing that should the airline’s management and the union failed to resolved their dispute, President Aquino “will not prejudice the riding public.”

The President earlier threatened to implement the open-skies policy if the bickering between PAL and the cabin crew continued.

“It [implementation of the open-skies policy] happened before, I think, in 1997. I am not clear in what year, but Cathay Pacific was asked to provide help [at the time],” Lacierda said.

“It can happen again for the purpose of not prejudicing the riding public,” he added.

Baldoz assuming jurisdiction would force the two sides to negotiate further and, if an agreement was still not reached, the secretary said that she could make a decision on the dispute.

The vice president of the 1,600-strong cabin crew union, Andy Ortega, said that his members would respect the Labor secretary’s authority but stressed that Baldoz should resolve the conflict quickly and fairly.

“If they [government] stop us because of national interest, we expect them to do their part in giving us a fair and fast decision,” Ortega added.

The Flight Attendants’ and Stewards’ Association of the Philippines on Wednesday announced that it would go on strike at the end of October, saying that PAL management had repeatedly rejected its demands for a pay raise.

It was also demanding paid maternity leave and an end to a company policy that forces flight attendants to retire at the age of 40.

The government has called both sides to attend a meeting on October 5 in a last-ditch effort to avoid a strike, but the union said that it was still preparing for a strike because it expected the flag-carrier to take a hardline stance.

The planned strike was the latest in a string of labor problems to hit the airline.

In August this year, 25 pilots and first officers on PAL’s short-haul aircraft suddenly quit for higher-paying jobs abroad, forcing abrupt cancellation of several flights. –AFP AND CRIS G. ODRONIA, Manila Times