Lack of Pilots forces PAL to cancel flights

[wowiesy]

OT: Question lang, yun bang mga leaders ng mga ganyang unions, employee rin ba ng company? If yes, pano pa sila nagtatrabaho sa company if puro union matters ang inaatupag nya/nila?

to add on to ab-initio's provided info:

union officers represent the "union" in any issues... kung yung union officers ay operators / factory workers, at marami ding mga ibang disciplinary cases against their members, magiging priority ng mga union officers ang tumayo bilang "abogado" ng employee in such disciplinary / administrative cases... kaya yung totoong pwesto nila na trabaho, hindi na nila magagawa.. dahil sila ang "abogado" o witness ng union member sa administrative hearing / cases...

effectively, the union officers get their pay (as if they really work), and (i'm presuming here).. also get some benefits from the union (may union dues na babayaran mga members, therefore may pondo ang union)... yun nga lang sa union.. mukhang hindi mandated (either by Labor Code or the DOLE or any other body or law) to be audited.. internal lang.. so kung may union officer na nagwawaldas.. mahirap pakialaman dahil pag pumasok ang management para tumulong, this may deemed as meddling in union matters and therefore ULP...

some union officers also make it their living to expand their unions externally, like forming federations... these federations also give money to the top organization... kung federation sila.. mas marami.. mas may "power"... so some union officers go out on campaigns or activities to organize other labor unions in other companies...

and that is how they spread....

[wowiesy]

Aquino assumes jurisdiction of PAL labor row; stops strike, job cuts

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/...-pal-labor-row

MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) - President Aquino on Wednesday assumed the jurisdiction over the labor row in Philippine Airlines, effectively putting on hold an impending retrenchment of its ground crew employees, ABS-CBN News has learned.

This latest development in the almost year-long labor saga came amid an impending labor strike that aims to cripple the operations of the country's first airline, now controlled by business tycoon Lucio Tan.

In a statement on Wednesday, Malacañang said it is intervening in the airline's latest labor row since PAL belongs to an "industr[y] indispensable to national interest."

"“Essentially, it stays 2 orders of the Secretary of Labor. What it plainly means is that on the part of labor, they will not engage in strikes; on the part of management, no lockout. So hold muna lahat. (Everything is put on hold)," presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters on Wednesday.

"By assuming jurisdiction, the government will intervene and discuss it with both parties. If and when walang agreement na mangyayari, then the Office of the President will render decision on the petition of PALEA,” he added.

No strike

"The Orders dated 15 June 2010 and 29 October 2010 of the Secretary of Labor.. are STAYED," the statement said, referring to the respective decisions of Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz to assume jurisdiction of the case and allow PAL management to proceed with the restructuring that would result in job cuts.

That effectively means the impending strike by the members of PAL Employees Association (PALEA), a 3,000-strong labor union of the airline's ground crew, has been put on hold.

"It is but fair and just to afford PALEA ample opportunity to exhaust its legal remedies available under the law... We hold in abeyance the implementation of the [decision of the Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz dated June 15 and October 29] to give way to the overriding interests of the parties," the statement said.

No job cuts

As for the cause of the labor row--the outsourcing of PAL's non-core activities--Malacañang has also directed management to put that strategy on hold.

"PALEA and PAL management are directed to desist from undertainking any action that will aggravate the situation pending the resolution of this Petition," the statement said.

That means around 2,600 ground crew members who are members of PALEA would keep their jobs--for now.

That also means the affected employees who stand to receive an aggregate P2.5 billion in separation benefits have to wait.

Background

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz had required PAL management to increase separation benefits from the original P2 billion proposal last October in the hope of ending the labor row.

It did not. PALEA questioned the DOLE's decision, conducted street protests, and eventually held a strike vote.

After 86.138% of PALEA's members voted to proceed with the strike as the last resort to protest the planned retrenchment and outsourcing, Malacañang intervened.

President Aquino's latest move was a response to the November 12 petition of PALEA to transfer jurisdiction of the labor case from the labor department to Malacañang.

PAL management has been facing several issues from its labor unions in recent months. Aside from the ground crew employees who belong to PALEA, which is protesting the job cuts, the airline has also previously dealt with its cabin crew employees who opposed management plans to adjust retirement age to 40 from 60.

The 1,600-strong Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) was set to push a planned strike in October after last-ditch efforts to resolve the row failed. This was put on hold, too.

Malacañang had initially offered to broker talks between PAL's management and labor unions, then adopted a hands-off policy after Labor Secretary Baldoz assumed jurisdication.

The PAL labor issue has been one of the triggers for the Aquino Cabinet to adopt a pocket open skies policy. - with reports from ANC, Willard Cheng of ABS-CBN News

as expected... AJ na...

[Monseratto]

Malayo talaga ang aguat ng magkalaban na kampo.

[speed unlimited]

Makikialam na nga si Pinoy apektado ang turismo ng pinas.

[chua_riwap]

Dec 22.....PAL 747 Riyadh to Manila, almost 9 hrs flight.

-no inflight entertainment (sira raw, kaya wala movies). kahit audio (music) wala. yung overhead lights sa lahat ng seats defective din.
- ang meals, yung rice nila, parang lugaw na natuyo, malata.

buti na lang may iPOD ako. yun na lang pinagtiyagaan ko.

Never again w/ PAL......

Pakunswelo: di delayed yung flight. we arrived at NAIA 2 on time.

[Monseratto]

Naku, tuloy ang mga matronic FAs...

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/new...-win-labor-row

PAL flight attendants win labor row
By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Flight attendants of the country’s flag carrier, Philippine Airlines, won the labor dispute against the airline Friday, just in time for Christmas Day.

Members of the Flight Attendants’ and Stewards’ Association of the Philippines (Fasap) lauded the decision of Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, ruling in favor of the group, increasing the mandatory retirement age of all flight attendants regardless of gender to 60 years old.

INQUIRER.net is getting PAL’s reaction to the ruling.

The order, dated December 24 and sent to members of the media by Fasap, also granted wage increases and rice allowances to members of Fasap, amounting to P200 million.

Under the old collective-bargaining agreement (CBA), female flight attendants are forced to retire at 55 years old, while make flight attendants are forced to retire at 60 for those hired before November 1996. Meanwhile, those hired after 1996 up to 2000 are forced to retire at age 45, and those hired after November 2000 are forced to retire at age 40.

“The different retirement ages for flight attendants performing the same services constitute a clear discrimination of their right to equal work opportunity,” Baldoz said in her ruling.

“It is in this light that setting the compulsory retirement age of sixty (60) years—both for male and female cabin crew personnel—is fair and reasonable,” the ruling added.

The retirement age of flight attendants is one of the most disputed issues between PAL and Fasap.

Fasap president Bob Anduiza lauded the Labor Department’s decision and called it a great Christmas gift to PAL employees.

“This is a historic victory not just for Fasap and the flight attendants, this campaign and the decision of Secretary Baldoz sets a clear and strong message to employers in the country to respect the rights of all Filipino workers, regardless of age and gender. We take this opportunity to thank the Aquino administration, the watchful glare of the media, our friends in civil society and of course Secretary Baldoz for helping Fasap defend the rights of its flight attendant members,” Anduiza said.

[CVT]

Iyong isang kaibigan namin piloto ng PAL, who is flying B747s sa route ng SFO/LAX-MNL, he is also flying domestic routes,- Davao, Cebu et al,- plus regional flights.....

11.6K:cheers:

[CVT]

Naku, tuloy ang mga matronic FAs...

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/new...-win-labor-row

Lalong nang magmamahal ang operating cost ng PAL,- and worse, matatalo sila sa competition....

11.7K:samurai:

[OldSchoolHack]

Nag swan dive na ang PAL as carrier. Over two decades ago (pre Lucio Tan days) halos head to head sila against Singapore Airlines.

Now, wala na.

Parang Pilipinas din. Kahit Vietnam na galing sa digmaan, lalampasan na tayo.

[Monseratto]

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/216255/n...res-for-strike

PALEA hits Palace ruling on PAL spin-off plan, prepares for strike
03/26/2011 | 04:40 PM

The Philippine Airlines’ employees union expressed disappointment over Malacañang’s decision upholding PAL’s right to restructure its operations by spinning-off its Airport Services, In-flight Catering and Call Center Reservations units.

Maintaining that the spin-off could lay off 2,600 workers, the PAL Employees’ Association (PALEA) also accused Malacañang of “conspiring" with the airlines’ management for not informing the union of the decision.

“Sinubukan naming dumaan sa sinasabing tuwid na landas ni P-Noy, yun pala ang Malacañang ay ikalawa na rin palang tahanan ni Lucio Tan," said Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

Rivera said the conspiracy was "evident when PAL broke the news to the media even before an official announcement was made, meaning the management has prior knowledge of the decision long before it was announced last Friday."

He said PALEA has yet to receive a copy of the ruling. “We are very frustrated with President Benigno Aquino III," Rivera added.

To recall, President Aquino formally assumed jurisdiction over the labor-management dispute last December 15, averting a potential strike by PALEA, which filed a notice of strike on November 5, 2010.

PALEA also filed a petition for presidential intervention before the Office of the President after Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz ruled in October last year that management’s decision to spin-off its three non-score units is “a valid exercise of management prerogative."

Majority of the 3,700 members of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA), flag carrier's ground crew union, voted to push through with earlier calls for a strike, its president said.

But PAL management had maintained it will only negotiate an agreement with PALEA after Malacañang, which has taken jurisdiction of the row, rules on its plan to outsource its non-core operations.

Moreover, PAL said a strike vote has no basis. “How can the spin-off issue be discussed… when the case is still within the purview of the Palace?" the company said in a statement last Wednesday, citing its president, Jaime Bautista.

For his part, PM chairman Renato Magtubo said Malacañang’s decision sends a chilling message to the labor front: that outsourcing and contractualization is not only legal but a desired labor and economic policy of the Aquino administration.

PALEA is already preparing for the requirements for the strike before the Palace’s decision came out last Friday.

“PALEA asks for the support of our fellow Filipinos and from our brothers and sisters in the labor movement," Rivera said.

A labor unity meeting convened in Quezon City Saturday afternoon gathered militant and moderate labor groups in support of PALEA’s fight.

PAL to reach out to affected workers

In a news release posted on PAL's website, its president Jaime Bautista said the management will reach out to the workers who would affected by the spin-off program.

He said PAL will abide by the Palace order, including a calling for an additional P50,000 gratuity pay for each affected worker.

Bautista said PAL management will meet affected workers to discuss the smooth and orderly implementation of the ruling.

Also, he urged PALEA members to respect and abide by the decision for the sake of industrial peace and the welfare of the flying public.

Bautista expressed gratitude to President Aquino and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. for “recognizing the difficulties experienced by PAL which necessitated the spin-off its three units."

The more than 4,000 PAL employees that will remain with the airline are equally grateful because they know that the spin-off is necessary for the airline’s continued survival, he added.

Bautista assured affected workers of the following benefits:
* Separation pay equivalent to 1.25 month’s salary for every year of service;
* Gratuity of P100,000 per affected employee (a P50,000 increase per the latest Malacanang order);
* One-hundred percent (100%) commutation to cash of unused vacation leave and sick leave balances;
* One-year extension of the medical and hospitalization benefits; and
* Trip pass benefits depending on the number of years of service.

— Jerbert Briola/LBG, GMA News

[eld]

Ngiti naman mga manang...



http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...intensive.html

Parang si Tessie Tomas yung sa right...

[Monseratto]

April 1 na ang strike. Sino ang magiging loser, Si Lucio w/his deep pockets o yung 6,000 PAL workers?

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx...bCategoryId=66

A strike now may just kill PAL
DEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco (The Philippine Star)
Updated March 28, 2011 12:00 AM

I was afraid something like this will happen. As I watched the 70th anniversary presentation of Philippine Airlines that recalled memorable events in its corporate history, I felt a foreboding that this could be its last hurrah. Asia’s First Airline, like the country it proudly represents abroad, needs to do serious rethinking of where it stands, where it wants to go and how to get there.

Like the country, PAL was ahead of almost everybody in the region. But somewhere along the way the airline was, like the country, badly served by the politicians who led Asia’s first Republic. Not only did they abuse the airline to attain their jetsetter reputations, they forced the airline to hire their protégés to the point that it became, and still is, overstaffed and uncompetitive.

Today, the airline is already in trouble even without the strike threat. Fuel prices are going to the stratosphere. Competition is getting fiercer than it ever was. World economies are still under threat of a double dip recession. And it isn’t easy to have big overhead costs and try to recover increased operating costs in a very competitive environment.

When the pilots of PAL last had a strike, the airline still enjoyed a lion’s share of the domestic market. Because PAL was then still a near monopoly, the strike was a pain to the public. Government had to resort to extraordinary measures like allowing Cathay Pacific to operate domestic routes to minimize the strike’s negative impact on the economy. But today, PAL has very strong domestic competitors. In fact, Cebu Pacific, one of the many new local airlines, now carries more passengers between our islands than PAL.

There are other airlines too that will be ready to pick up the slack left by a Philippine Airlines grounded by a strike. I was just talking last week with Alfred Yao, the owner of Zest Air, and he impressed me as an entrepreneur with an aggressiveness that could make his airline a strong competitor for PAL not just in the domestic market but regionally as well.

Mr. Yao told me he was buying more Airbus 320s to serve local and international routes. He said he now has twice weekly flights on the Shanghai-Kalibo route, increasing to four weekly in June, opening Boracay to an increasingly prosperous Chinese market.

Zest Air also flies the Seoul-Kalibo route four times a week and increasing to daily by June, with planeloads of vacationing Korean tourists. Zest also flies Pusan-Kalibo twice a week now.

And he told me Zest Air will also fly between Beijing and Palawan starting late April, opening a new direct destination for Chinese tourists. Zest will also fly between Beijing and Kalibo by late June. Also by June, Zest Air will be flying to Singapore, joining PAL, Cebu Pacific, SEAir-Tiger Air and AirPhil Express in linking the city state with the Philippines.

Mr. Yao said he is not afraid of P-Noy’s pocket open skies even if he also shares the demand for reciprocity aired by his competitors. But instead of complaining about it, he is trying to move ahead of the foreign airlines who may decide to take advantage of the new E.O. That explains his decision to bring international passengers directly to Palawan.

Then there is AirAsia that will establish a local subsidiary with majority control under Tonyboy Cojuangco. SEAir, on the other hand, is tying up with Tiger Air, a Singaporean budget carrier designed for tough competition. And there is AirPhil Express, practically a sister airline of PAL but one whose business model and staff structure are geared to enable it to compete in today’s turbulent skies.

There is no doubt about how tough competition is these days. Let us listen to Alfred Yao of Zest Air. “We have very good service,” he said, emphasizing the airline’s so-called value proposition for its clients. “Our people are very friendly. Price-wise, we provide very affordable prices that are within reach of Filipinos. Despite stiff competition, we are doing pretty well.”

As for Cebu Pacific, it flew 10.5 million passengers last year. This year, it expects that figure to go up to 12 million, of which 10 million would be using the NAIA Terminal 3, almost using up the terminal’s rated capacity of 13 million.

Despite the brave words of its executives during their 70th anniversary celebration, Philippine Airlines is in serious crisis. It needs a new business model in order to survive. Like what happened to Japan Airlines, PAL needs to reorganize to make it more nimble in today’s environment. It can no longer afford to have three times the number of employees Cebu Pacific has.

The restructuring of PAL that its union is vigorously objecting to is a survival response. This is probably why P-Noy upheld the position of the Department of Labor allowing it to do so. As I had previously written here, the employees union should learn from the example of the American automotive unions. When it became clear that GM, Ford and Chrysler would go belly up unless the unions worked with management and government to save the car companies, the United Auto Workers or UAW decided that cooperation was the better deal.

The union may be overestimating the importance of the airline’s survival to its owners. I see a very strong incentive on the part of the owners to let the airline fold up if the strike materializes and successfully grounds its flights. Most of its aircrafts are on lease anyway, and the lease can be transferred to AirPhil Express as it takes over PAL’s old routes.

On the marketing side, the worse part of a strike threat is the reluctance of passengers to do advance booking, something that helps the airline plan better. A passenger will not risk buying a ticket for a flight two months or more ahead of time if there is any danger that a strike may strand him here or in a foreign port. That crank call on a San Francisco bound PAL flight, hopefully, isn’t related to the labor problems of the airline because pranks like that can ruin an airline’s reputation.

It is crunch time for PAL and every stakeholder must decide if they want to save the airline or bury it for good. Government should not be expected to save PAL in the mistaken notion that its survival is in the national interest. Unlike in the past, if PAL goes belly up, there are enough competitors to take over its market and provide the service almost as if nothing happened.

The world has changed drastically in recent years. Job security can no longer be guaranteed in a globalized world where stiff competition is the name of the game. PAL is still organized under the rules of a more genteel world that had long ago changed. The new rules of the game in today’s business world may not be for the better in humane terms but businesses can only play by the new rules or perish.

A strike at this time may kill the airline. That does not do the union members any good. And while the owners may get hurt as well, they are in a better position to bounce back quickly as their Plan B, Airphil Express, is already up and running.

About 2,600 rank and file employees will be retrenched under the plan but more than 4,000 will retain their jobs in an airline that is better equipped to compete. And for those who will be retrenched, they will get financial and other benefits and be first in line for jobs in the outsource company that will take over the functions. That sounds better than killing the airline and almost 7000 employees losing their jobs. If the airline keels over because of the strike, all 7000 employees fall in line with other creditors for any financial claims.

Hopefully reason rather than emotion prevails so that Asia’s First Airline can still proudly fly the national colors in all corners of the world. For the PAL union to strike now is like cutting their nose to spite their face. It just doesn’t work for their benefit or anyone else’s other than PAL’s competitors who will gladly divide among themselves the still formidable market share of Asia’s First.

Those were the days

Jose Villaescusa sent this one.

LIFE was really so much simpler then... when Apple and Blackberry were just fruits, while Samsung was Delilah’s lover!

[uls]

sakit na sa ulo ipagtakbo ang PAL

shut the damn thing down

sell the airplanes and other assets to other carriers. sigurado buyers will be lining up

[Monseratto]

May Plan B (AirPhil Express) naman si Kapitan. But it will be sad to see the PAL name join PAN AM and TWA...

[froshie1]

affected ba ang airphil express sa PAL stirke na ito?

[Patti]

^hindi po kasama ang airphil express..

[ghosthunter]

If PAL workers go ahead with the strike, they are just going along with Lucio's plan to kill PAL as an airline.

PAL has been unprofitable because of being inefficient and having too many permanent employees from the days it was still run under the government.

[Monseratto]

Pati yung FASAP mabubuwag if PAL gets killed. Bye bye mga matrona FAs.

[Ry_Tower]

If PAL workers go ahead with the strike, they are just going along with Lucio's plan to kill PAL as an airline.

PAL has been unprofitable because of being inefficient and having too many permanent employees from the days it was still run under the government.

+, true indeed. Lucio Tan will not think twice in shutting down PAL as he did before because he can maximize AirPhil and he is damn rich anyway.

Kesa naman marami mawalan ng trabaho, pumayag na lang sana sila sa cooperation kasi ganun na talaga panahon, stiff competition. I had classmates in college whose father are PAL pilots who were part of that 1st strike. Laking pirwesyo sa family.

[boybi]

Go go go, strike na!

Pero ilipat sana Mabuhay Miles sa AirPhil