Naia porters decry baggage quota

MANILA, Philippines—Porters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) are required to give up a portion of their earnings to their employer if they fail to meet the customer quotas imposed on them.

Otherwise, they face suspension or dismissal.

A porter at Naia, who refused to be identified for fear of losing his job, said the practice had been going on since Aug. 1, when his employer, D’Frada Allied Services Inc., was awarded the contract by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to provide porter services at the Naia.

D’Frada has around 300 porters who assist arriving and departing passengers for a fee of P50 or $1 per bag. Passengers, however, may or may not avail of this service.

Naia. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The subcontracting agreement between D’Frada and MIAA came after the government agency decided to privatize porter services early this year.

The aim of MIAA then was to increase revenues to be used for further improvement and upgrading of airport facilities.

“If we don’t get the quota of 45 bags a day for three consecutive days we will be suspended for a day. That would mean a day without work and pay,” said the porter, who was suspended from his job last week.

The porter said retrievers of push carts at the Naia were also given a quota of 30 carts per day which is hard to achieve.

To avoid suspension, the porters resort to paying D’Frada the amount corresponding to the quota missed.

D’Frada gets paid P50 for one bag. Porters would have to pay P750 if they miss 15 bags.

“On the average, we would only get 30 bags a day,” the porter said.

“Every week, there would be at least 10 porters suspended at Naia Terminal 1 alone because of this quota,” the porter said.

To meet the quota, the porters jostle each other to get passengers’ baggage. “This is not right,” said the porter, who receives a minimum salary of P420 a day.

The Inquirer tried to get the side of D’Frada but officials have not returned the text messages and calls since Saturday.

Sought for comment, Ricardo Medalla, MIAA’s assistant general manager for operations, said he would bring the matter up to the MIAA Chief Jose Angel Honrado.

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