PALEA: PAL to show us its income statements Monday

To prove that it is not concealing its financial position, the management of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has agreed to disclose its most recent statements of income to its ground crew labor union, said union president Gerry Rivera on Friday after the Palace-backed mediation talks. "The airline will give us on Monday its financial statements for the first and second quarters of this fiscal year [ending March]. We will see if the company is really losing money as its officials have claimed it is incurring losses," the Philippine Airlines Employees' Association (PALEA) president told GMA News Online in a phone interview. After reviewing the financial status of PAL, the union will submit its comments to Malacañang, Rivera said, adding that another round of mediation talks have yet to be set. "We could only hope that the Palace would come out with something positive or in favor to us," he said. The labor dispute between PAL and PALEA stemmed from the move of the oldest airline in Asia to outsource its in-flight catering, airport services, and call center reservations. If the outsourcing plan pushes through, more than 2,600 current employees of the airline will lose jobs. PAL president and chief executive officer Jaime Bautista said last month the airline is not engaging in contractualization. "The spin off… will lead to the early retirement of affected rank-and-file workers. They will all receive their respective separation pay and benefits that are much more than what the Labor Code of the Philippines provides," Bautista said at the time. Rivera also said that PALEA is hoping that the airline will give its "counter-proposal" for the collective bargaining agreement proposed by the union last October. The October proposal was the first significant move since PAL and PALEA agreed on a 12-year moratorium in collective bargaining agreement in the wake of a bitter labor dispute in 1998, resulting in labor strikes and the airline's closure. One of the salient points of the proposal is the updating and upgrading of the pay scale. Rivera said the pay scale of employees has been subjected to wage "distortion" that resulted in a "severe contraction and elimination of the quantitative differences between the job grades." The proposal contains a provision that bars contracting out or outsourcing of existing positions, jobs, divisions, and departments already filled up by present or future regular employees. Rivera pointed out that this move protects job security and union representation. Also, the proposal aims to enhance the retirement scheme for employees, which means "saluting, recognizing, and giving tribute" to the airline workers and union members, Rivera said.—Jesse Edep/JV, GMA News