Akbayan calls on public to refrain from using PAL

"As much as possible, refrain from patronizing PAL."

This was the statement issued Tuesday (17 August 2010) by Akbayan Party in a creative political action it conducted in front of thePhilippine Airlines ticket office in Manila calling on the public to boycott the country's flag carrier.

Donned in flight steward suits complete with stroller travelbags, Akbayan members asked the riding public to boycott the airline companyuntil its management has repudiated its unfair labor practices as well as itssexist and discriminatory policies imposed against its workers, particularly toits female flight stewards.

Boycott and/or last choice

"Whenever possible or if there are other options, weencourage the public to temporarily abstain from using PAL or at the very leastto make it their last choice of transportation," Akbayan Vice President MarieChris Cabreros said.

Cabreros said the riding public must not be a party to PALand airline owner Lucio Tan's mistreatment of its employees. "PAL would like todepict the current labor row as a dispute restricted to its management andworkers. They are trying to insulate the issue from the public's scrutiny.However, being the country's flag carrier and by virtue of the fact that manyof the workers' issues are in reality the same issues confronted by the rest ofthe working population, it is necessary that we express our solidarity with thePAL employees. The public must get itself involved."

Akbayan is opposing PAL's policy of forcing women flightattendants hired after 2000 to retire at the age of 40 while those who started working for the airline after 1996 are forced to leave the company at age 45. The group also challenged the airline's unfairpregnancy, maternity and motherhood policies imposed to female flight stewardssaying they are sexist and anti-women.

Similarly, the group derided the PAL management's deliberateeffort to sabotage the flight attendants' and stewards' collective bargainingagreement, which is reportedly in a gridlock for the last three years causingdelay and diminution of salaries and benefits.

"Tatangkilikin mo ba ang PAL kung bastos at abusado ito saating mga kababaihan at labis ang pagmamaltrato nito sa ating mga kababayangempleyado? Are we supposed to be proud of PAL's double standards; mahusay sadayuhan pero walang hiya sa mismo niyang mga kababayan?" Cabreros asked.

Ride under protest

However, Cabreros admitted that there would be instanceswhere commuters might be forced to ride PAL because of schedules and priorarrangements. She advised them to make their opposition to PAL's unfair laborpractice known while they use PAL.

"Left with no other option, they can ride under protest.They can give messages of support to the flight crew or register their disgustto the PAL management using its customer service or complaint mechanisms. Thepoint is, everybody should be involved in this issue," Cabreros said.

Last week, Akbayan through it Congress Representatives WaldenBello and Kaka Bag-ao together with party spokesperson Risa Hontiveros hasformally thrown its support to the 1,600-strong Flight Attendants and StewardsAssociation of the Philippines (FASAP). Bag-ao also expressed support to thePhilippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) which is currently contestingPAL's contractualization policy reportedly already displacing 3,000 workers.

Bello and Bag-ao reportedly filed a resolution asking the Committee on Labor andEmployment of the Lower House to conduct an immediate investigation on the PALlabor-management row.

Source: http://akbayanjournal.blogspot.com/2010/08/akbayan-calls-on-public-to-refrain-from.html