PAL defends outsourcing, lashes at critics

MANILA, Philippines–Philippine Airlines (PAL)  on Friday defended the implementation of its spin off/outsourcing program against critics, saying the company is well-within its rights to restructure operations to ensure long-term survival and to save the jobs of its 5,000 remaining employees.

In a statement, PAL President Jaime J. Bautista said detractors of the plan see the loss of jobs for 2,400 members of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) but conveniently turn a blind eye on the 5,000 office personnel, cabin crew and pilots that PAL is trying to save.

“The law is on our side. We’re implementing the outsourcing program not on mere whim or caprice but on the basis of legal and valid orders from the Department of Labor and Employment and the Office of the President. We’re doing it to save the airline from financial ruin,” Bautista stressed.

He said PAL management would no longer go back to the negotiating table with PALEA. “The DOLE and the President have spoken; PALEA has filed their appeal with the appellate court. Let’s just wait for the CA’s action on this matter. We have nothing more to talk about. The time for diplomacy is long over, especially after the union’s wildcat strike,” he said.

Bautista also lashed out against critics of PAL’s outsourcing plan who say nothing other than angry words and mere rhetoric to justify their opposition.

He said PAL is determined to implement the spin off/outsourcing program on Oct. 1. “The time for negotiation has long passed. We invited PALEA to a dialogue after the Office of the President threw out their petition seeking to invalidate PAL’s outsourcing plan. PALEA members only have their intransigent leaders to blame for their current predicament,” he stressed.

Bautista said there’s no doubt on everyone’s mind that the concerted refusal of PALEA members to perform their official duties in the early morning of Sept. 27 is a strike. “They refuse to check in passengers, load cargo and cater food – functions which they are paid to perform while on official duty – yet, they insist it is merely a form of ‘protest’ and not a ‘strike’. That’s the kind of ‘double-speak’ PALEA leaders have been dishing out since Day One of the debate on the spin off/outsourcing plan,” he said.

Bautista said the PALEA members’ refusal to work forced management to cancel flights for more than 16 hours Tuesday which caused untold suffering to more than 14,000 PAL passengers. “This doesn’t include the millions of dollars PAL lost as a result of PALEA’s illegal acts,” he added.