Court ends PAL's gender-based retirement policy

A Makati court has stopped Philippine Airlines (PAL) from implementing an early retirement policy that purportedly discriminates against women flight attendants. In a July 19 resolution, Judge Oscar Pimentel of the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148 issued a Writ of Preliminary Injunction "to prevent serious damage and irreparable injury to its flight attendants as a result of purported gender-based discrimination." Under the said labor rule, male and female flight attendants who were hired before November 1996 should retire once they reach 60 and 55 years old, respectively. Some 600 female members of the Flight Attendants and Stewards' Association of the Philippines (FASAP) filed a class suit against the airline company in 2004, alleging that their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) from 2000 to 2005 was "gender discriminatory." The petitioners argued that the policy was discriminatory because they were required to retire at 55, while their male counterparts would stay in their jobs until they reach 60 years old. On November 22, 1996, the PAL — amid accusations of gender-based discrimination – revised its policy and set a common retirement age for both male and female employees that were hired from then on, although at a younger age of 45. In 2000, all flight attendants hired starting that year would be deemed resigned when they reach an even much younger age of 40. "But how can you be retired when you are still productive," lawyer Lorna Kapunan, whose law firm is representing the petitioners, told GMANews.TV. Kapunan said since the start of 2010, PAL has so far retired a total of 14 flight attendants. Of these, 10 were hired prior to November 1996 and are thus covered by the injunction order. However, Kapunan claimed that despite being served with the injunction order last July 30, the firm has not yet given flight schedules to the 10 flight attendants. "In effect, [they are] not working. These female flight attendants have given their best years in faithful service to PAL. We trust that PAL will comply with the order of the court," Kapunan said. The FASAP case was earlier elevated to the Supreme Court but the latter remanded the case to the Makati court after finding the CBA "unconstitutional," according to Kapunan. She said they are also looking into the possibility of asking the flag-carrier to either rehire other affected flight attendants who had already retired or award them with back pay. This would be apart from damages that her camp would be requesting, Kapunan added. The retirement age policy was among the grievances being aired by members of the FASAP, who have already indicated plans to stage a work strike. PAL spokesman Cielo Villaluna had already discouraged the flight attendants from staging a strike, saying the management was willing to hold a dialogue with them. Villaluna also said there was nothing illegal about PAL setting at 40 years old the retirement age for attendants hired starting 2000, saying it was all provided for in the 2000 CBA, which the FASAP signed in agreement. — LBG/VVP, GMANews.TV