President Benigno Aquino III asked the Philippine Airlines (PAL) to get its act together in remedying the sudden departure of a number of the carrier's pilots that had led to flight cancellations and delays on Saturday.
The President reminded the flag carrier, owned by business tycoon Lucio Tan, about its responsibility to serve the public, especially travelers going in and out of the Philippines.
"PAL has an obligation under legal terms. They are a public conveyance. They have a commitment to serve the interest of the public," Aquino told reporters in Luneta on Saturday during the unfurling of a photo mosaic for her mother, the late President Corazon Aquino.
"And if this is not being met, this has to be addressed," he added. The President said the PAL has already promised him to come up with a "revised schedule" for the affected flights by Sunday.
Aquino said he has already instructed officials from the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to sit down with PAL officials to review labor conditions at the flag carrier.
"I was told by DOTC Sec. Jose 'Ping' de Jesus that a lot of our pilots are really being fired... Kailangan talaga upuan iyan (We really have to resolve that.) We will be sitting with PAL officials," Aquino said.
Aquino said he would order a review of labor conditions at the Philippine flag carrier, which in June started outsourcing critical operations, a move that may cost some 3,500 PAL employees their jobs. The airline has some 7,500 employees.
"Kasi wala raw silang labor issues na tinatalakay sa PAL. Pero nire-review kasi baka may nakaligtaan lahat ng ahensya," he said.
(The PAL people say they have no labor issues to tackle. But that’s being reviewed, because maybe our agencies have overlooked something.)
The meeting might take place within the day (Saturday) or Monday, Aquino added.
Aquino said his administration is already looking for ways to "reverse" the effects of what is perceived as the country’s worsening "brain drain" problem.
A "brain drain" problem occurs, usually in a poor country like the Philippines, when its skilled workers and professionals — which include airline pilots — leave the country for jobs abroad that offers higher pay and better working conditions.
At least 11 PAL flights were cancelled, while 18 others — both local and international flights — were delayed after a group of pilots did not show up at the airport on Saturday.
As it turned out, the pilots had "indiscriminately resigned" from their jobs in exchange for higher salary offers abroad, according to a statement by PAL management.
The Lucio Tan-owned carrier said that the pilots' actions were in violation of their contracts and government regulations, which require resigning workers to give their companies at least six months to look for replacements.
PAL said it will file appropriate charges soon against pilots who chose not to report for work immediately after submitting their resignation letters.—JV
