Sobriety urged after heated picket ruckus

The Palace appealed to both Philippine Airlines (PAL) and PAL Employees’ Association (Palea) to exercise sobriety in dealing with each other to prevent the recurrence of violence at the workers’ picket line last Oct. 29.

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz had sent a monitoring team from the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) to the site of the incident to investigate the reported violence at the picket line last Oct. 29 in Pasay City, deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte said.

“The reported attack that resulted in the injury of seven Palea members last Oct. 29, was unfortunate and deplorable. While we understand that emotions are running high, we call on both PAL and Palea to exercise sobriety in their dealings with each other. We continue to monitor the situation via the monitoring team deployed by Secretary Linda Baldoz, and we expect a fair and thorough investigation on the incident,” Valte said.

PAL, meanwhile, lashed out against its detractors for hastily laying the blame on the airline management for Saturday’s confrontation at the PAL Inflight Center (IFC) in Pasay City.

In a statement, PAL said those who know nothing better than make wild and baseless accusations against the airline should shut up and let the police do the investigative work.

The airline said it was grossly irresponsible for some left-leaning sectoral representatives to accuse PAL management of harassing laid off workers. “It was clear from news reports and photos taken from the scene that former PAL workers barred the airline’s catering truck from leaving its own facility. They were armed with rattan truncheons, planks with nails and even burned a carton box all with the aim of inflicting harm should the truck driver insist on leaving PAL’s Inflight Center. So who’s harassing whom?” PAL asked.

PAL said it was also lamentable that police authorities “were nowhere to be found” when its truck was being blocked by protesters, but conveniently “arrested” someone who claims to have been hired by PAL management to “disperse” its former employees’ camp. “Worse, authorities were reportedly unable to apprehend those responsible for the death of a hapless bystander,” PAL said.

As to the stench allegedly emanating from its IFC, PAL said protesting former PAL workers have only themselves to blame. “They won’t allow our trucks to leave the facility; even a garbage truck from Pasay City’s waste management office was prevented by protesters from picking up garbage unless these were brought to the IFC gate. And now they complain that the area stinks? Let them have a dose of their own medicine,” PAL stressed.

On PAL’s alleged refusal to provide protesting former workers with free tickets, it said: “PAL reserves the right to refuse conveyance to those who make false and malicious claims that the airline is unsafe and whose ultimate goal is to bring down the company.”

Meanwhile, PAL staff based in the airline’s North America regional office in San Francisco denounced the picket staged last Oct. 27 by American unionists in the Bay Area in support of dismissed PAL workers in Manila.

The San Francisco-based PAL union members expressed collective support to the airline’s efforts at normalizing operations after implementation of its outsourcing program last Oct. 1.

In a signed manifesto, 10 US-based PAL unionists rejected calls to join the Oct. 27 picket held in front of the Philippine Consulate led by members of the Burlingame, California-based International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

“We do not approve of such demonstration and refuse to participate. In these hard and difficult economic times, let us not aggravate the situation with noisy and disruptive demonstrations,” said the group in reply to a letter-invitation by union steward Danilo Mirabucao. –Danessa O. Rivera, Daily Tribune