Federation wants Aquino to step into PAL labor dispute

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has urged President Benigno Aquino 3rd to intervene in the labor dispute between Philippine Airline (PAL) and its employees.

“Given your election campaign platform, the ITF strongly urges your government to act swiftly and decisively to intervene in the PAL-Palea [Philippine Airline Employees’ Association] dispute to facilitate an acceptable resolution,” David Cockroft, general secretary of ITF said in a letter to President Aquino.

Cockfort added that the ITF supports Palea call for the new Labor Secretary, Rosalinda Baldoz, to be given the right to revisit the labor dispute and to make a decision in accordance with due process and on a just basis, especially given the potential social impact of the PAL management’s decision.
PAL had said it would spin off its three non-core businesses, letting go some 3,500 out of its 7,500-member workforce.

Suspected union busting

In June, the Department of Labor approved the planned retrenchment ssabout by the spin off of its three non-core units.

Cockroft said that the termination of as many as 3,000 employees is “perceived as a union-busting measure given the fact that these employees are all Palea members and include the union’s officers.”Palea is an affiliate of ITF. Cockroft added that these actions would be in breach of provisions against labor contracting and on job security contained within the company’s collective bargaining agreement.

“The ITF is aware that the aviation industry has been particularly badly hit by the economic crisis. However, ITF affiliates are clear that aviation workers are not responsible for the crisis but have borne a disproportionate burden of its cost. There is an urgent need to repair the damage inflicted upon them rather than to use this as an opportunity to attack workers’ rights and their unions,” Cockroft said.

Headquartered in London, the ITF represents more than 4.6 million transport workers in 759 unions across 155 countries, including 269 aviation unions with 645,609 members collectively. –Darwin G. Amojelar, Manila Times