THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) last week assumed jurisdiction over the labor row between the management and union of Philippine Airlines (PAL). The move effectively bars the Flight Attendants’ and Stewards’ Association of the Philippines (FASAP) from staging a strike until DOLE resolves the disagreement.
DOLE ordered both parties to submit within 10 days their position papers for resolution.
It may be recalled that mediation talks between PAL and FASAP bogged down Tuesday last week, pushing PAL to seek DOLE mediation.
FASAP said it has since aborted all its preparations for a strike. In a statement, the union said it “will respect the authority of (Labor) Secretary (Rosalinda) Baldoz to assume jurisdiction of the dispute, but that “the fight is far from over,” referring to demands for PAL to scrap its allegedly unfair retirement age policy and discrimination against female flight attendants.
PAL, for its part, said the P105-million financial package and additional rice allocation offered to union members is predicated on its capacity to pay after booking losses of P15 billion in the last two years.
The airline’s proposal to change the retirement age to 45 from 40 is bench marked against competitors in ASEAN, it added.
