House panel to probe PAL layoff next week

Two lawmakers on Thursday vowed to dig deeper on the labor conflict between the Philippine Airlines (PAL) and its employees when the House of Representatives conduct an inquiry on the matter next week. Samar Rep. Emil Ong, chairman of the House labor and employment committee, said the panel will conduct the hearing on November 11 to determine how to come up with a resolution that would benefit all parties concerned. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, in a controversial decision last week, allowed PAL to outsource its in-flight catering, cargo handling and call center-reservation services, resulting in the layoff of some 2,600 employees. "It is alarming to learn that more than 2,600 employees will be retrenched from their employer. These employees have their families to feed, children to put to school," Ong said. He, however, said the hearing "will not dwell on the ruling made by the [Department of Labor and Employment] officials but will look deeper on the present law, where Congress can make amendments." "We cannot question the ruling of the DOLE officials because it seems that they have acted according to the existing law," Ong noted. Ong appealed to the PAL workers for sobriety and urged them to file a motion for reconsideration and appeal the decision. "The PAL employees need to exhaust all legal efforts before going to the President for intervention," he said. At least seven House Resolutions were filed by different lawmakers asking for an investigation on the outsourcing and contractualization scheme being implemented by PAL to protect and strengthen the employees' right to organization and security of tenure. Anakpawis party-list Rep Rafael Mariano, meanwhile, accused DOLE of being "in cahoots" with business tycoon Lucio Tan, owner of PAL. "It is unacceptable that DOLE is again acting in cahoots with PAL, and neglected the inherent rights of workers to job security," he said. He did not mince words when he said that Tan, currently the second richest Filipino with a net worth of $2.1 billion, only wants to further increase PAL's profit margins at the expense of thousands of PAL employees. PAL management admitted that it will save $86.1 million per year or P3.874 billion in five years with the outsourcing program. Mariano said the investigation by the House of Representatives would "expose the evil schemes and motives of Lucio Tan and the PAL management over the outsourcing program at the country’s premier flag carrier." He said DOLE’s decision on PAL outsourcing will set a precedent to all companies planning to outsource labor and replace regular workers with contractuals. “DOLE, especially Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz played deaf and blind on PAL’s perpetual blanket violation of labor rights – including gender discrimination against female flight attendants, repression of the right to collective bargaining and right to peaceful assembly of workers. PAL is using the Philippine Labor Code as a ‘double-edged blade’ to butcher labor rights," he said. - KBK, GMANews.TV