Issue 7 A.Y. 1112
As typhoon Pedring was devastating the country on Tuesday, members of the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association stopped their work and went on a strike opposing the planned outsourcing next year. 172 domestic and international flights were cancelled not only due to the typhoon but also due to work stoppage and approximately 14,000 passengers were affected.
Malacañang Palace called the mass action “insensitive” since the country was already experiencing a typhoon but despite that, these employees still insisted on walking out of their jobs. President Benigno Aquino III said that members of the PALEA who participated in the strike shall be held liable for upsetting the airport services. Under the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008, any person who disrupts the services of an airport is criminally liable, may be imprisoned or may be entitled to pay a fine ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 pesos. PAL President and COO Jaime J. Bautista said in an interview that what the protesters did is an illegal strike and constitutes administrative and criminal charges.
Moreover, President Aquino said that a meeting between the Ninoy Aquino International Airport management and PALEA members was held on Monday and the latter assured that they would be no strike. However, contrary to their earlier statement, about 300 PAL ground workers still walked out of their works to protest. The legal team of President Aquino is on a study on the possibility of filing economic sabotage charges against these workers.
The said protest against outsourcing may be viewed in two different ways. First, the workers merely showed participation in the form of activism. Since the outsourcing sees 2,600 workers being laid off by October of this year, members wanted to retain their jobs because it is their only source of living and they have families to support. PAL said that compensation to laid-off employees will include 100% cash payment of vacation and sick leave balance regardless of years of service, one-year extension of medical and hospitalization package, and continued trip-pass benefits depending on the years of service rendered. But PALEA members say that the termination is not “necessitated nor justified by the company's financial situation”; hence, a strike. Most of the employees have been working for the airlines for years and some are already old making it hard for them to search for new jobs.
But whatever the situation is, it is clearly the obligation of these workers to serve the passengers. A number of flights were suspended due to the impact of typhoon Pedring so they have to attend to the customers’ needs. Their action was in part insensitive because they did not consider the fact that thousands of people will be affected. They could have done the mass protest on a different day, when the country is not in a situation where it is losing a number of lives and infrastructures. Also, they should have held on to their assurance that they will not push through with the protest. They must have planned this step very carefully and made sure that it would not be a big hassle both for the airlines and the passengers. Because of this insensitivity, they might not only lose their jobs but also be charged with administrative cases.
PAL management says that the outsourcing will push through on October 1, 2011 as they have scheduled earlier. Flights will be reduced as the flag carrier prepares for the transfer of catering, ground handling and call center reservations units to third party service providers. In addressing the issue, PAL management and the administration should talk about the welfare of the employees very carefully and lay out efficient plans regarding it. On the other hand, the government is just adhering to the rule of law if they continue to file charges against the protesters. In this case, there must be an effort from the PAL management and PALEA alike. After all, both parties will be affected when the said outsourcing is implemented.
- Judienne Capiz, 11A
* Notice to readers: The views expressed in the Weekly Perspective do not necessarily reflect the views of the Academic Committee or of UP POLITICA
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