NLRC junks Palea suit vs PAL over CBA talks

The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) has junked the unfair labor practice case filed by the ground crew union of Philippine Airlines (PAL) against the airline’s management for its alleged refusal to start negotiation for a new collective bargaining agreement early this year.

In a 14-page resolution dated September 29, the NLRC Special Second Division ruled that the flag carrier was not guilty of unfair labor practice because the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (Palea) failed to prove that PAL violated its duty to bargain collectively.

“NLRC, the labor relations arm of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), upheld PAL’s stand that the issue on spinoff/outsourcing should be resolved first before it proceeds to collective bargaining,” PAL said in a statement.

Palea president Gerry Rivera said the union had yet to receive a copy of the NLRC ruling but added they might file a motion for reconsideration.

He said Palea filed the case on March 7 this year because PAL management had refused to start CBA negotiations even after the union submitted its CBA proposal in October last year.

However, PAL said it submitted to the NLRC on March 28 its CBA counterproposal that only included rank-and-file workers to be left behind after its outsourcing plan is implemented.

Employees affected by the outsourcing plan were excluded.

According to the airline, NLRC Presiding Commissioner Raul T. Aquino said the outsourcing issue must be resolved apart from the CBA dispute and may not, therefore, be considered a stumbling block to the continuation or completion of negotiations.

The NLRC said Palea’s insistence to include the outsourcing issue in the labor dispute and its “uncompromising attitude” caused the breakdown of negotiations.

“The submission of PAL’s counterproposal on March 28, 2011 is a positive indication of its intention to bargain collectively, and if there was any delay in the negotiation it was due to the union’s hardline position to include the issue on ‘outsourcing/spin-off’ in the negotiation notwithstanding the favorable rulings of the DOLE and the Office of the President,” the NLRC resolution said.

Citing Article 252 of the Labor Code, the NLRC added: “PAL’s non-acceptance and disagreement with Palea’s position did not amount to refusal to bargain as the duty to bargain does not compel any party to just agree on a proposal of the other party.”

On the 10-year CBA moratorium, the NLRC said the issue was “inconsequential to the charge of refusal to bargain.” It pointed out that the moratorium was mutually agreed upon by both PAL and the union and the issue was declared valid by the Supreme Court.

On October 1, about 2,400 workers from PAL’s ground-handling, catering and call-center reservation units were laid off after Malacañang rejected the union’s motion of reconsideration over the airline’s outsourcing program.

Meanwhile, a week after Palea members staged work stoppage which paralyzed PAL’s operations, Rivera remains optimistic of a reasonable solution to the dispute. –Philip C. Tubeza, Philippine Daily Inquirerw with a report from Nancy Carvajal