PALEA: Labor strike will push through despite DOLE's postponement order

Restive employees of the flag carrier Philippine Airlines will push through with their strike to paralyze the airlines’ operations despite a Labor Department order to postpone protest actions and resolve the matter through labor dispute settlement. “We are ready to defy Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz’s order any time we deem it necessary to go on strike to prevent layoff and contractualization at PAL. The latest order is a bad April fool’s prank. But the order… merely postponed the strike to a date that PAL and the government cannot now know in advance," PAL Employees Association (PALEA) president Gerry Rivera said in statement Saturday. Members of the PALEA and their supporter from Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) started the picket Friday night at the airport area in Pasay City, causing a traffic jam. The picket rally prompted Secretary Baldoz to issue a certificate order recommending the dispute to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) spokesman Nicon Fameronag said the certificate order is not aimed at preventing the PALEA members to stage a strike. “The intervention of the secretary of labor is based on the ground of national interest by endorsing the case to the NLRC (that in effect) enjoins or prevents PALEA from staging a strike," said Fameronag in a text message to media. Rivera, also the vice president of the PM (a national union of workers), said that the certification order issued by secretary Baldoz “is the last nail on the coffin of labor rights in the country." President Benigno Aquino III’s administration is violating internationally recognized labor rights by favoring the plan of PAL owner Lucio Tan to spin off the company’s none-core businesses, a move that will render 2,600 regular workers jobless, said Rivera. He said PAL employees will continue to fight the Aquino administration’s anti labor policy. Meanwhile, in a statement issued Friday, PAL president and COO Jaime J. Bautista said PAL continues to appeal to its workers to respect and remain within the legal conciliation process. “But make no mistake, PAL is also ready to exercise its legal options in case any work stoppage is declared illegal by proper authorities," he warned. [See story: PAL ready for worst-case scenario] Bautista assured passengers that contingency measures are in place to minimize flight disruptions and avoid passenger inconvenience. “Many PAL administrative employees, and even union members themselves, believe that a strike will not do the company any good. As such, they are ready to man posts to be vacated by protesting workers," Bautista said. PALEA members are protesting the impending dismissal of 2,600 workers as a result of PAL management’s move to outsource some of its businesses to third-party service providers. Rivera said the certificate order of Secretary Baldoz will boost their case to be filed before the International Labor Organization (ILO). PALEA is planning to protest what it considered as the Philippine government’s suppression of the ILO conventions on the right to self-organization and collective bargaining. Rivera called on the 3,700 members of PALEA to remain vigilant and ready to go on strike any time. Also, PALEA plans to hold protests next week against the DOLE order, in coordination with a labor unity coalition of moderate to militant workers groups. Moreover, the PAL union members and their supporters will hold a picket rally at the DOLE’s main office in Intramuros, Manila, wherein they will tear a copy of Baldoz’ order. Meanwhile, PAL's Bautista said the planned strike has no legal basis. “First, it’s not true that management refuses to convene negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement as claimed by the PALEA. Second, the union’s claim that there is no justifiable reasons for the spin-off of three units – Airport Services, In-flight Catering and Call Center Reservations – likewise have no leg to stand on," he stressed. But PM chairman Renato Magtubo said the right to strike is a constitutionally protected freedom by workers to defend themselves against the self serving interests of business owners. He lamented that President Aquino “has taken the crooked path instead of the straight road by siding with PAL owner, Lucio Tan, who is also known as the richest man in the country. — with a report by Carmela Lapeña/LBG, GMA News