Press Release
August 3, 2010

Labor group cautions government against PAL takeover

The Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) expressed caution on the proposal for a government takeover of Philippine Airlines (PAL) in case the labor row with pilots is unresolved. “The government can exercise eminent domain and police power to takeover PAL if the labor problems are unsettled but that will only sweep the dirt under the rug without actually cleaning the house. Unless the grievances of the airline pilots, flight attendants and ground crew are redressed now then labor unrest will simply simmer and explode later,” argued Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.

The labor group instead called on the Aquino government to mediate PAL’s labor dispute with the aim of addressing the workers’ demands. “A better option is for the Aquino government to apply social justice so it can resolve the problem of contractualization that lies at the root of labor unrest at PAL. PAL is not simply competing with Cebu Pacific but they are copying the contractualization scheme that is rampant in its rival,” Magtubo asserted.

Press Release
August 2, 2010

Labor group asks PNoy to lift ban on migration of skilled workers

In the face of the PAL pilots’ issue, the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) asked the Aquino government to lift the six-month prior notice on the migration of workers who are categorized as mission-critical skills. Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson, said that “Banning the migration of skilled workers by six months disadvantages labor and favors capital. There is an opportunity cost on workers which government and employers cannot possibly repay. After the six month ban, there is no assurance that offers still exist for skilled workers who just dream of a better life for their families. If employers want to retain skilled workers in the country then they must match the good pay, regular status and better working conditions offered abroad.”

The labor group also called on both the government and PAL not to punish the 25 pilots who have resigned by filing criminal and administrative charges. “It behooves the Aquino government, even PAL management, to think of the root causes and review policies that discriminate against labor. Both government and PAL face a full-scale war with PAL pilots, flight attendants and ground crew if an iron-fist policy is used on labor,” Magtubo argued.

Press Release
August 1, 2010

Militant workers, ground crew call on PAL not to file cases vs. pilots

The militant group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) and the ground crew union Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) called on the management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) not to file cases against the pilots who abruptly resigned. Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and PM vice-chairperson, urged PAL to “Think twice before swinging the Damocles sword on the heads of the pilots lest the company face a three-front war against all of its employees.”

PAL is faced with an ongoing labor dispute with its ground crew over the planned contracting out of jobs that will affect some 3,000 employees and the threat of a strike by flight attendants over a deadlock in collective bargaining negotiations. Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson challenged the ground crew, flight attendants and airline pilots to unite to defend job security and working conditions at the country’s biggest domestic and international carrier.

Press Release
July 25, 2010

PAL workers to join SONA march to ask P-Noy to defend regular jobs

Rank and file workers of Philippine Airlines are joining labor groups’ SONA march tomorrow to ask President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to save their jobs and put an end to the labor contractualization policy.

Some 500 members of Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) will join the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) contingent along the Tandang Sora and Commonwealth Avenues around 10:00 am tomorrow before marching with the multisectoral groups Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) and the Kampanya para sa Makataong Pamunuhay (KAMP) towards the Batasan Complex.

PALEA members have prepared a replica of a PAL plane where they wrote a message for P-Noy asking the President to stop the planned layoff of some 2,600 PAL employees. The PALEANs have been demanding in particular that a ‘midnignt decision’ issued by DOLE on June 15, 2010 be reversed.