PALEA asks CA to stop PAL outsourcing, layoffs

(Updated 6:21 p.m.) The Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) asked the Court of Appeals Friday to stop the flag carrier from implementing its outsourcing program, which passed the review of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Office of the President. PALEA president Gerry Rivera said PAL should not yet implement its outsourcing plan because the decision of Malacañang is not final and executory. “We will exhaust and exercise the available remedies to stop laying off PAL workers, among them the filing of this petition at the CA," Rivera said. PAL president Jaime Bautista revealed Thursday that “separation letters" have been sent to its 2,600 employees in the catering, airport services and reservations call center units of the airline. Bautista said the employees will get severance packages and those who opt to work in the companies that will provide PAL with the outsourced services will have guaranteed employment. Outsourcing will proceed In a separate statement, PAL said its outsourcing of catering, ground handling and call center reservations will proceed while the PALEA seeks court intervention. Atty. Clara de Castro, PAL legal counsel said, “under the Rules of Procedure, the mere filing of such petition does not automatically bar implementation of said lawful orders." She added that the “mere filing with the CA does not necessarily mean that the appellate court would give due course to PALEA’s petition." De Castro said PAL has not received a copy of PALEA’s petition. She also explained that the petition must first be raffled off to the appropriate division of the appellate court. Some 700 employees affected by the spin off have received their “separation letters" a day after PAL president Jaime Bautista announced its implementation. The flag carrier served the letters during town hall meetings organized to explain the details of the outsourcing plan. "Last line of defense" “PALEA is the last line of defense against contractualization. We are thus calling for solidarity from our brothers and sisters in the labor movement and our allies in institutions such as the Church," according to the PALEA president. Rivera said PALEA is “fighting not just for our welfare as regular PAL employees. We are also struggling for the future of all Filipino workers. There is no dignity and justice in a contractual job for Filipino workers." Rivera did not reveal if the union will implement any work stoppage but he said, “they will come like a thief in the night." PAL previously said that other carriers would service its routes should its operations be hampered by protest actions. — ELR/VS, GMA News