Tag Archives: Partido ng Manggagawa

[Statement] Press Release: PALEA asks Tourism Congress to probe safety issues at PAL

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Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) called on the delegates to probe issues of passenger safety at Philippine Airlines (PAL). Photo from airplane-pictures.net

As the two-day Tourism Congress opens in Saranggani province today, the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) called on the delegates to probe issues of passenger safety at Philippine Airlines (PAL). “We ask the Tourism Congress to take up the cudgels for the riding public by inquiring about safety and service concerns at PAL given that overworked and untrained replacement workers are now servicing passengers. If the Tourism Congress is anxious about the impact of the labor dispute on the influx of tourists, then it should also be worried about any possible accidents due to unsafe work practices by contractual workers,” stated Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of Partido ng Manggagawa.

Meanwhile PALEA welcomed the call by members of the Labor Group of the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC) for government to push for a settlement of the labor row. “A reasonable compromise to the dispute is for both parties, PAL and PALEA, to extend judicial courtesy and wait for the final decision of the courts on the legality of the outsourcing plan. In the meantime, the lockout employees must be allowed to return to their regular jobs in order to normalize flights and operations,” Rivera expounded.

PALEA’s call on the Tourism Congress came in the wake of news reports that yesterday two Danish tourists, Rasmus Georgsen Jakobsen and Kristine Jonassen, backed out of proceeding with a PAL flight to Cebu over safety concerns. According to reports, the tourists questioned PAL’s replacement workers at the check-in counter including a supervisor about safety issues but were left unsatisfied with the answers.

 

Read full statement at http://laborpartyphilippines.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=447&Itemid=1

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[In the Web] PALEA sues police for ‘intrusion’

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PALEA asks for the support of our fellow Filipinos, and our brothers and sisters in the labor movement. Photo from partidongmanggagawa2011.blogspot.com

 

Two members of the labor union picketing against Philippine Airlines (PAL) filed complaints on Friday against four members of Southern Police District (SPD) for alleged ‘intrusion’ after the policemen entered the PAL In-Flight Center at the MIA Road last Wednesday.

Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) board members Jake Garcia and George Dela Rosa, filed their complaints at the SPD headquarters Friday morning against a certain P/Insp. Neil Deveraturda and several other policemen.

Last Oct. 5, PALEA confronted the policemen who were aboard a vehicle with SPD markings because of the “suspicious nature” of entry. After finding out that the policemen were detailed to Taguig, PALEA officers Garcia and Dela Rosa further asked the lawmen why they had not coordinated with the Pasay police and the Inter Agency Monitoring Center which has territorial jurisdiction over the area. But the lawmen were unable to answer PALEA’s questions.

“Unfortunately for PAL, PALEA’s peaceful protest is allowed by the Labor Code. The police should learn from the mistake of their commander-in-chief PNoy who has remained deafeningly silent after his shoot-from-hip threat of filing an economic sabotage case against PALEA,” said PALEA president Gerry Rivera.

PALEA reacts to Tourism Congress statement

PALEA also called on the Tourism Congress to exert its moral influence on PAL to open talks to resolve the ongoing labor dispute. The Tourism Congress
had expressed concern that the labor row is negatively affecting the influx of tourists.

When the Tourism Congress told PALEA to heed the Labor Department and Office of the President, Rivera retorted: “The Tourism Congress is barking up the wrong tree. It is PAL which is not respecting the judicial process by prematurely implementing the outsourcing plan when there is no final decision by the courts.”

 

Read full story at http://www.gmanews.tv/story/234659/nation/palea-sues-police-for-intrusion

 

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[In the Web] ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests inspire PALEA

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Ground crew workers of Philippine Airlines shout slogans during a rally on the last day of their work on Sept. 30, 2011 in suburban Paranaque, south of Manila, Philippines. Some 2,600 airline workers are expected to loose their job affected by outsourcing plan by PAL management.

 

MANILA, Philippines — Members of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) picketing outside the gates of the Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) In-Flight Center (IFC) are being inspired in their struggle by the spreading Occupy Wall Street protests in the United States as well as the ongoing general strike in Greece.

“Our members are emboldened as they can easily identify themselves with the Wall St. protesters because of the similarities of our issues. Corporate greed and a failed economic model were moving people across the US into taking different forms of direct action,” said PALEA president Gerry Rivera in a statement.

The leaderless Wall St. protests have already spread across the United States and the number of people taking part keeps on growing despite attempts by the police to disperse the crowd. Dozens of trade union groups, including the Transport Workers Union (TWU), have also joined the protest.

“We Filipinos can also make our voices heard by doing similar actions against corporate greed and government neglect,” said Rivera.

Rivera, who is also the vice president of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), said defenders of the outsourcing or contractualization scheme should see how this economic model failed the Americans, the Greeks, the Spanish, the Irish, and more and more people around the world.

Read full story at http://www.interaksyon.com/article/14604/occupy-wall-street-protests-inspire-palea

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[In the Web] Philippine Airlines: a frontline in the battle against outsourcing

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Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) leads the PALEA strike that paralyzes PAL operation. Photo form hronlineph.wordpress.com

Workers at Philippine Airlines have taken dramatic action in their battle against contracting out. On 27 September, Philippine Airlines (PAL) were forced to cancel all flights after thousands of workers struck and occupied their workplaces in protest at their imminent sacking and the outsourcing of their jobs.

Like Qantas, management at Philippine Airlines has for years been pushing an agenda of outsourcing. A month ago, some 2600 workers at Philippine Airlines were issued termination notices, effective 30 September. These workers were told they would have to reapply for their jobs with new companies set up to handle airport services (including check-in, refuelling and baggage handling), catering, and call centre functions.

All of these workers would lose the protection of their union, the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA). And all of these workers would suffer a dramatic fall in pay and conditions, as PALEA President Gerry Rivera explains: “A senior PAL reservation agent with five years of work experience receives PhP22,400 [A$560] in salaries and allowances but is being offered by service provider SPI Global a wage of only PhP10,000 [A$250] per month. This is not even the minimum salary and clearly a starvation wage for a family breadwinner.”

Ahead of the lockout, PAL tried to use scabs to take over workers’ jobs. On 27 September, PALEA members responded by turning up to work but refusing to leave. After many hours, police and airport security cleared terminal and cargo areas. But many hundreds of workers are still protesting every day at Manila Airport, while Philippine Airlines remains severely disrupted.

Companies including Japan Airlines, Qantas, and Philippine Airlines are using outsourcing to boost profits at workers’ expense. If one group of workers is successful in resisting this, it will be a powerful blow against outsourcing, and send a message to all workers that contracting out can be defeated. For this reason, it is important that Philippine Airlines workers get as much support as possible from workers around the world.

Read full story at http://sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7078:philippine-airlines-a-frontline-in-the-battle-against-outsourcing&Itemid=389
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[Video] PALEA statement on protest action

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“PALEA has decided to act now instead of waiting for the onslaught of the outsourcing typhoon on Friday. This is the mother of all protests against layoff and contractualization.  Nobody will go home and we will not back down until our demand for job security is met,” announced Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

“We call on PAL to begin talks for a settlement to the labor dispute. PALEA demands a stop to the outsourcing plan. We call for the opening of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). In the CBA negotiations, we can discuss measures to make PAL viable except outsourcing,” Rivera stated.

PALEA meanwhile asked for the understanding of the public. “Any inconvenience brought about by the protest is temporary. Ultimately the safe and efficient operation of PAL is guaranteed if employees are regular not contractual. It is up to PAL to settle the dispute and prevent further difficulties to passengers and clients of the flag carrier,”Rivera insisted.
He explained that “PAL is determined and desperate in implementing the lockout of employees. Starting last week, even before the effectivity date of the termination on Friday, PAL has been employing scabs and displacing regular employees. PAL has pushed us to the wall. We are left with no choice but to hold this protest action.”
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