MANILA, Philippines鈥揚hilippine Airlines (PAL) 聽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.
鈥淭he law is on our side. We鈥檙e 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鈥檙e doing it to save the airline from financial ruin,鈥� Bautista stressed.
He said PAL management would no longer go back to the negotiating table with PALEA. 鈥淭he DOLE and the President have spoken; PALEA has filed their appeal with the appellate court. Let鈥檚 just wait for the CA鈥檚 action on this matter. We have nothing more to talk about. The time for diplomacy is long over, especially after the union鈥檚 wildcat strike,鈥� he said.
Bautista also lashed out against critics of PAL鈥檚 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. 鈥淭he 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鈥檚 outsourcing plan. PALEA members only have their intransigent leaders to blame for their current predicament,鈥� he stressed.
Bautista said there鈥檚 no doubt on everyone鈥檚 mind that the concerted refusal of PALEA members to perform their official duties in the early morning of Sept. 27 is a strike. 鈥淭hey refuse to check in passengers, load cargo and cater food 鈥� functions which they are paid to perform while on official duty 鈥� yet, they insist it is merely a form of 鈥榩rotest鈥� and not a 鈥榮trike鈥�. That鈥檚 the kind of 鈥榙ouble-speak鈥� PALEA leaders have been dishing out since Day One of the debate on the spin off/outsourcing plan,鈥� he said.
Bautista said the PALEA members鈥� 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. 鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 include the millions of dollars PAL lost as a result of PALEA鈥檚 illegal acts,鈥� he added.