PAL unfazed by union's planned strike vote

The management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) is unfazed by the planned strike vote of its ground crew union, stressing that the grounds cited for a planned work stoppage are “utterly baseless”.

“PAL is perplexed over the planned strike because apart from expressing willingness to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), we told the National Conciliation and Mediation Board that we will submit our counter-proposal on or before Monday (March 28) next week,” PAL president and COO Jaime Bautista said.

He maintained, however, that the CBA negotiations can proceed independent of the labor dispute on the spin-off issue that is still pending before the Office of the President. PALEA on the other hand wants the CBA to delve on the spin-off issue.

Bautista reminded leaders of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) that they should wait for the results of their own petition for presidential intervention before Malacanang. “Using the CBA negotiations as a forum to discuss the merits of a pending case is unacceptable,” he stressed.

Reacting to PALEA’s planned strike vote, Bautista said PAL management will not be cowed by the union’s pressure tactics. He stressed that PALEA’s planned mass action betrays the insensitivity of PALEA leaders to the current problems plaguing the country and the rest of the world.

Moreover, conciliation proceedings are still going on before the NCMB hence any strike would be premature and illegal.

“We are in the middle of a crisis: fuel prices are escalating due to the Middle east conflict; thousands of Overseas Filipino Workers are back home and jobless; and the economic uncertainties brought by the twin tragedies of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami are very clear disincentives for our Japanese customers to travel,” he said.

In fact, he stressed, the economic impact on PAL of the global crisis spawned by man-made and natural calamities has yet to be determined.

“PALEA’s planned strike which could hamper operations at a time when the flag carrier is in the midst of repatriation flights and relief operations for our fellow Filipinos in Japan, the Middle East and North Africa is downright callous, if not unpatriotic,” Bautista said.

Despite differences on the issue of what should be included in the CBA discussions, Bautista told PALEA officers in a meeting at the NCMB last week (March 14) that PAL’s counter-proposal to the PALEA proposed CBA will still be submitted.