104 more PAL flights canceled

PHILIPPINE Airlines resumed operations Wednesday but continued to struggle with a strike by its ground workers, causing it to cancel 104 more flights including 40 to international destinations.

The airline canceled 172 flights on Tuesday after some 300 ground workers refused to work to protest their impending layoff as a result of the company’s plan to contract ground services from third-party providers.

PAL spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna said it would take time for the airline’s operations to return to normal­—even as travel agents expressed concern over the strike’s impact on tourism.

Airport security and police were able to clear Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport of striking workers Tuesday night, enabling contract workers from Sky Logistics to take over their posts.

The delayed flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta and Hong Kong were able to take off.

Passengers jammed the departure area of both domestic and international terminals Wednesday as the airline counters manned by newly assigned contract workers tried to cope with the crush of angry travelers. Some 14,000 passengers were unable to fly because of Tuesday’s work stoppage.

In Japan, President Benigno Aquino III said his legal team would look into filing charges of economic sabotage against the striking workers.

“The acts of PAL personnel who refused to perform their tasks … may be considered acts leading to the disruption of airport services,” Mr. Aquino said. He said the union had even assured airport management Monday night there would be no strike.

The Labor Department on Wednesday urged the union to respect the government’s decision to favor PAL’s prerogative to outsource its ground operations.

“The Philippine Airlines Employees Association continues to assail the legality of the outsourcing, which [the department] has already decided,” Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement.

“The decision was affirmed by the Office of the President and is now the subject of a petition before the Court of Appeals.”

The Philippine Airlines Employees Association condemned Tuesday’s eviction of the protesting ground workers and said the fight was not over to preserve 2,600 jobs in catering, its call center and cargo-handling operations that the airline wants to cut on Sept. 30.

Union president Gerry Rivera said the airline’s decision to use contractual workers was unsafe, noting that the door of an Airbus A340 was damaged Tuesday when a reliever misused the equipment.

“This accident reveals the dangers of inexperienced contractual employees at work,” Rivera said.

“We know that passengers were inconvenienced by the protest, but they should understand that airline safety and efficiency is ensured by regular not contractual labor.”

Tourism Assistant Secretary Benito Bengzon said any disruption in air transport invariably hurt the tourism industry.

He said the Tourism Department’s main concern now was to ensure that services were restored and passengers were able to get to their destination.

Philippine Travel Agencies Association president Aileen Clemente said she expected the strike to hurt the tours booked to the Philippines.

“Like any strike, this causes travel disruptions. We just hope it will be resolved soon,” she said. –Eric Apolonio and Vito Barcelo with Joyce Pangco Pañares, Jeremiah F. de Guzman and Julito G. Rada, Manila standard Today