PAL crisis

[Tarmac]

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okay kaayu ko nga ang mo take over ang government ani....

That's like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Government should not intervene. PAL was at its worst when government had a majority stake in the company.

[Tarmac]

pero nindot ra ba kaayo ug benefits ning mga pilots. six digit salary unya they can only fly a limited number of hours per month. sa US FAA limited ang mga pilots to 100 hours flying lang. Ambot lang diri kung unsay max flying hours.

Same flight time limits here as in the US. But it's not as hayahay as you think. Remember these are flying times only, i.e. the time the plane takes off til the time it lands. Not included is duty time (i.e. the time the pilot actually shows up for work and the time they are officially off duty after all the flying is done), which can actually stretch to as much as 14 hours in a day. 14 hours. Time spent commuting to and from the house is not included in that 14 hours. Reklamo na man gani mga office worker kung more than 8 hours ang trabaho.

Moreover, schedules are not regular. You could be flying early morning flights one day, then late-night "redeye" flights the next. This really screws up your body clock. One day you're waking up at 2:30 AM to fly a 5 AM flight, the following day you're in the air at 11 PM (whereas the night before you were asleep) and won't be back home to sleep til 6 AM (when you were on duty the day before).

Contrast that with a call center agent. Although the latter is working the graveyard shift, at least he or she can look forward to regular working hours.

[peewee_toot]

na okay na ba ni?

[high_heels]

nah...bottomline its the previous government!!!! mao ra dapat i blame ani!!!! its like saying the Philippines is a PAL country!!! bullshit!!!!

[Tarmac]

^^^ Unsay labot sa previous government? More likely "Present Management."

Daghan diay gipang sibak nga top flight operations people tuhod aning kapalpakan. Shows you whose fault it really is.

[peewee_toot]

nah...bottomline its the previous government!!!! mao ra dapat i blame ani!!!! its like saying the Philippines is a PAL country!!! bullshit!!!!

ngano ang previous government mn sir?

[sharkey360]

The flight attendants of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) filed a notice of strike at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday to protest what they called "age discrimination."

The Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) announced their planned strike at a press conference in Pasay City before proceeding to the DOLE office to file the notice of strike.'

According to a report of dzXL radio, the placards at the FASAP press conference venue read "100 percent strike" and "No to age ... discrimination."

"Pag sinunod namin we're looking at end of October hanggang November ... may karapatan kaming magwelga, ie-exercise namin ito," FASAP president Bob Anduiza said in an interview on dzXL radio.

(If we follow procedures, we expect the strike to last end-October until November... We have a right to strike, and we will exercise it)

Anduiza said they will announce the actual date of the strike soon.

PAL spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna, however, appealed to the FASAP not to push through with the strike, which she called as "untimely."

Villaluna instead urged the attendants to return to the negotiation table.

"Ang isasagawang paghain ay di napapanahon. Makakaapekto ito sa Philippine tourism at sa aming financial position. Ang negotiation table ang tamang venue upang maresolba ang aming problema," Villaluna said in an interview on dzBB radio.

(The strike is not timely. It will affect Philippine tourism and our financial position. The negotiation table remains the proper venue to resolve this.)

Earlier, FASAP questioned PAL's mandatory retirement for flight attendants who reach age 40. PAL, however, claimed that this was part of their collective bargaining agreement with them.

However, Anduiza said since 2000, they have been trying to raise the retirement age of both male and female flight attendants to 60 years old.

"PAL however would always insist on the 40, 45, and 55 years old retirement ages," he said in an August 25 article on the FASAP website.

"What PAL is not saying is they want younger and pretty flight attendants because of the outmoded stereotyping of treating them as *** objects. It is plain sexism and age discrimination. It's the 'beer house' mentality of lusting for young and pretty girls as cocktail waitresses," he added.

PAL flight attendants to stage strike vs age discrimination - Nation - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News

[sharkey360]

Watch out.

Faced with the prospect of a strike by its flight attendants, flag carrier Philippine Airlines has started mapping out contingency plan for a "worst-case" scenario.

But spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna on Friday said PAL's priority is still to convince the flight attendants to call off their plan to strike.

"We are working on the mechanics [of] a contingency [plan] in case the worst-case scenario happens ... Meron kaming nakahandang contingency measures (We have prepared some contingency measures). In all honesty, pag ito ay widespread strike we will need a concerted effort," Villaluna said in an interview on dwIZ radio.

In an interview on GMA News' Unang Hirit, Villaluna said PAL is ready to negotiate with leaders of Flight Attendants and Stewards' Association of the Philippines (FASAP).

More at PAL readies plan for 'worst-case' scenario in attendants' strike - Business - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News

[sharkey360]

The management of flag carrier Philippine Airlines yesterday assured the riding public of continued and unhampered service despite a notice of strike filed by its cabin crew union.

"PAL's operations remain normal and all flights are operating as scheduled. There is no immediate work stoppage," PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said in a state-ment.

However, PAL said the notice of strike filed by the Flight Attendants' and Stewards' Association of the Philippines (FASAP) is untimely as it would scare away tour-ists and can cause further damage to the flag carrier's fragile finances.

"We are saddened by the union's decision, but we recognize their right to file a notice of strike," Villaluna said. She added the union's move is untimely in the wake of thousands of Hong Kong and Chinese tourists canceling their forward bookings in the aftermath of the Rizal Park hostage tragedy. "A strike threat doesn't help in efforts to lure back tourists to the country."

She added the management is willing to sit down again with FASAP leaders to discuss and settle any pending issues in the 2007-2010 collective bargaining agreement.

Villaluna said FASAP's claims that they are overworked and underpaid are without factual basis. "PAL's cabin attendants receive an average gross monthly salary ranging from P30,000 to 80,000. They also enjoy enviable rest periods."

She also refuted accusations of age and gender discrimination. "The early retirement age is part of the negotiated CBA FASAP leaders signed on two separate dates. They complain of alleged inequity of early retirement provisions when in fact the older batch of FASAP members, including the union leaders themselves, have been receiving and enjoying financial benefits in exchange for the younger retirement age of their colleagues," Villaluna stressed.

Meanwhile, militant labor group Partido ng Manggagawa warned the on-going labor row would deteriorate further once the Department of Labor and Employment grants the go signal for PAL to embark on a massive contractualization scheme, which is being opposed vigorously by the Philippine Airlines Employees Association, the air-line's ground crew union.

PALEA has been opposing the planned massive layoff and outsourcing of PAL's core functions such as passenger handling, ramp and cargo handling and customer care units to third party service providers.

PM chairman and former labor partylist Rep. Renato Magtubo said that the plan would affect the job security of at least 2,600 employees who are intended to become contractual workers.

Sensing a looming strike scenario in PAL, Magtubo urged the Aquino government to make an advance crisis management plan on this issue to avoid repeating a major disorder that attended the recent hostage crisis in Manila.

"This is definitely bigger than the recent hostage crisis as it involves thousands of workers facing job loss, discrimination, and deteriorating working conditions in PAL," said Magtubo in a statement furnished to The FREEMAN.

The labor leader said the proper way of state intervention on this problem is to prevent PAL from enforcing its illegal, anti-labor and discriminatory policies such as the planned contractualization of its ground employees and the forced early retirement plan for its female cabin crews.

Magtubo further said the FASAP and PALEA have the support of almost all the organized labor groups in the country as well as other advocacy groups that are strongly opposed to contractualization and discrimination in the labor sector.

PAL's flight crew union filed a notice of strike the other day citing the management's bad faith in negotiations as their new collective bargaining agreement already dragged for three years.

FASAP, on the other hand, is opposing PAL's plan to have its female cabin crews retire upon reaching 40 years old.

PAL: Strike may scare more tourists | The Freeman >> The Freeman Sections >> Cebu News

[Tirong-say]

Is it safe pa kaha to travel with PAL, knowing nga naa silay problem sa ilang staff,
how about the plane/ground maintenance crew.