Palace: No 'conspiracy' in decision on PAL spin-off

A Palace official on Monday denied that there was conspiracy between the government and the Philippine Airlines (PAL) management that favored the flag-carrier’s decision to outsource its non-core operations. The allegation was made by a leader of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA). Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office head Ricky Carandang said the government “balanced competing interests" in its decision to let PAL outsource some of its services. “We understand that in trying to attempt that balance, not everybody will be happy with it, but there was absolutely no conspiracy here," he told reporters Monday. PAL Employees’ Association (PALEA) president Gerry Rivera accused President Benigno Aquino III of “conspiring" with PAL owner Lucio Tan when he affirmed the Labor Department’s decision to let the nation’s flag carrier outsource its airport services, in-flight catering and call center reservations. Carandang said the PALEA leader went “too far to say that there was some kind of conspiracy." Despite this, the Malacañang official welcomed PALEA’s decision to appeal for the reversal of the ruling on the PAL spin- off plan. “That’s part of the process and they’re perfectly within their rights to appeal the decision and we would expect that they would do that," PALEA, for its part, said it is going to push through with its planned strike next Saturday. On Thursday, PALEA voted an "overwhelming" yes to stage a strike to compel the flag carrier's management to enter negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Contingency measures in place Despite PALEA’s planned strike, the company will continue to fly its scheduled flights with contingency measures in place, according to the PAL management. PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said that flights will go as scheduled, and all its nationwide ticketing services will operate as usual. "Our interline airline-partners as well as augmentation forces from management are on standby to ensure that our operations are not disrupted in case PALEA members walk out," she said in a statement Monday. The airline has likewise submitted a counter-proposal on salary increases for the first three years of a three-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to be negotiated with PALEA, Villaluna said. Under its counter-proposal, PAL is offering P750 during the first year of a salary increase and P1,500 for both the second and the third years “The amounts are what management believes the company can afford at this time, given the string of massive losses suffered by PAL since 2008," PAL said in its statement. — VS, GMA News