PALEA to slam Corona and PAL at impeachment rally

Press Release

February 6, 2012

PALEA

The Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) held a rally this afternoon at the Senate before the start of today’s impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona. More than a hundred PALEA members picketed the Senate from 12 noon to 1:00 pm in time for the expected testimony of Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) president Bob Anduiza on the recall of the Supreme Court decision on 1,800 flight attendants after a mere letter from Philippine Airlines (PAL) lawyer Estelito Mendoza.

In the protest, PALEA raised the call “Justice for workers, Reforms beyond Gloria and Corona” as a challenge to President Benigno Aquino III administration’s so-called campaign for good governance. “Aquino and Corona may be fighting over Hacienda Luisita and Gloria Arroyo but both are beholden to Lucio Tan as revealed by the FASAP and PALEA cases. The privileges extended to the Coronas by PAL are just the tip of the iceberg of the cozy relationship between public officials and Lucio Tan,” argued Gerry Rivera, PALEA president.

He added that “Workers want not just the prosecution of Gloria and her minions but the cleansing of all corrupt officials in the bureaucracy and further the institution of radical changes in the political and economic system. Without such thoroughgoing reforms then the purging of Gloria’s followers would just pave the way for the embedding of PNoy’s own cronies in government.”

Rivera explained that “As it stands now, the so-called campaign for good governance by PNoy looks no more than a factional fight among the elite. This is because there is no difference between the regimes of Arroyo and Aquino with regards to labor policy, neoliberal economics and social programs. The clash between Corona and PNoy looks more like a case of the kettle calling the teapot black and the teapot accusing the kettle of being ebony.”

Members of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) also joined PALEA in the rally at the Senate. Renato Magtubo, PM chair, said that “Like the rest of the people, we want to believe that the prosecution of Gloria and her followers is the start of fundamental reforms. But without any signs of real changes then such is mere wishful thinking.”

The call for fundamental reforms would be the banner demand for the May 1 commemoration and the rally today serves to jumpstart the early start of the Labor Day campaign.

Meanwhile PALEA continues to garner international support as tomorrow (February 6 Pacific Standard Time) the American union AFA-CWA, the biggest flight attendants union in the world, will submit a letter of concern to the PAL office at the Los Angeles international airport (LAX). AFA-CWA will hold an “Occufly” protest at LAX to slam corporate greed by airline companies.

The US flight attendants support for PALEA comes on the heels of protest actions earlier staged in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Toronto (Canada), Tokyo (Japan) and Hongkong. US unions and Filipino-American groups have also initiated a boycott PAL campaign.

PALEA 300 moves for the dismissal of PAL harassment case

Press Release

February 2, 2012

PALEA

The Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) will move today for the dismissal of the case filed by the management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) for alleged violation of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines law arising from the September 27 protest at the ManilaInternational Airport.

Hundreds of PALEA members also held a rally this afternoon at the Pasay Hall of Justice to coincide with the court hearing on what the union describes as a “harassment case” by PAL regarding supposed destruction of equipment during the airport protest.

“It behooves the court to dismiss this apparent harassment case because of a fatal flaw. PAL’s lawyers do not have any clearance from the Department of Labor and Employment in filing the case. Any complaint arising from a labor dispute requires such a clearance before civil courts can take jurisdiction,” asserted Gerry Rivera, PALEA president.

Last January 11, the 258 PALEA members who are respondents to the case, appeared at the Pasay regional trial court for the first hearing. The respondents are called PALEA 300 sincePAL in previous press releases has claimed that some 300 PALEA members joined the September 27 protest. The next hearing is scheduled for February 9. In an allusion to the mythical Spartans, Rivera declared that “The respondents to the case, the PALEA 300 are brave men and women who will die fighting instead of surrendering to tyranny by PAL.”

He claimed that “PAL is blindly shooting nuisance cases at PALEA members in a desperate bid to force them to accept the separation package and sign up for the illegal labor contractors Sky Logistics and Sky Kitchen.”

Rivera asserts further that PAL services deteriorated sharply after September not because of damaged equipments but due to lack of skilled and experienced manpower after PALEA members, in opposition to outsourcing, refused to transfer to assigned service providers.

PALEA insists that PAL’s waning reputation and deteriorating quality service can only be saved by getting its regular workers back. Supporters of PALEA are calling for a boycott of PAL and its sister company Air Philippines until the laid off workers are reinstated to their regular jobs.

On Monday, hundreds of PALEA members will join retrenched flights attendants of PAL in a rally at the impeachment trial since the president of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association is expected to testify for the prosecution.

Workers demand reforms beyond Gloria and Corona

Press Statement

February 2, 2012

Gerry Rivera

PALEA President

In the face of the ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, workers demand “Reforms beyond Gloria and Corona.” Workers want not just the prosecution of Gloria Arroyo and her minions but the cleansing of all corrupt officials in the bureaucracy and further the institution of radical changes in the political and economic system.

Without such thoroughgoing reforms then the purging of Gloria’s followers would just pave the way for the embedding of PNoy’s own cronies in government. As it stands now, the so-called campaign for good governance by PNoy looks no more than a factional fight among the elite. This is because there is no difference between the regimes of Arroyo and Aquino with regards to labor policy, neoliberal economics and social programs.

The experience of PALEA is enlightening. The decision to allow the controversial outsourcing scheme was upheld by both the labor secretaries of Arroyo and Aquino. Moreover, the Office of the President itself under PNoy affirmed the legality of the PAL’s contractualization scam despite the USD 76.5 million profit for the last fiscal year.

Thus Corona and PNoy may be fighting over the fate of Gloria Arroyo and Hacienda Luisita but both are beholden to Lucio Tan. With a mere letter from PAL’s lawyer Estelito Mendoza,Corona’s Supreme Court recalled the ruling in favor of the 1,800 flight attendants of FASAP. But also on the mere say-so from PAL that it is losing money even when the facts deny it, Aquino’s government betrayed the 2,600 ground crew of PALEA.

The clash between Corona and PNoy looks more like a case of the kettle calling the teapot black and the teapot accusing the kettle of being ebony.

Like the rest of the people, we want to believe that the prosecution of Gloria and her minions is the start of fundamental reforms. But without any signs of real changes then such is mere wishful thinking.

We want to see the prosecution not just of a corrupt chief justice but the purging of labor dealers in the DOLE and NLRC and the imprisonment of killers of labor leaders.

We demand a change in the government’s labor policy so that regular jobs are protected, contractualization is stopped, wages are not frozen, and the freedoms to organize and bargain are guaranteed.

We call for a reversal of the neoliberal economic model that has led to the collapse of our domestic industry and agriculture. Jobs must be generated in the country instead of labor exported abroad through national industrialization, land reform and agricultural modernization.

This will be our call for the coming celebration of Labor Day. To jumpstart the campaign, we will mobilize on Monday for the impeachment trial by carrying the banner of “Justice for workers, Reforms beyond Gloria and Corona.”

occuFLY LAX RALLY We Are The 99%

PALEA testifies at Washington DC on labor rights in the Philippines

Gerry Rivera meets with US flights attendants union at Washington DC

Press Release

January 25, 2012

PALEA

The Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) president Gerry Rivera testified at Washington DC at dawn today (noon January 24 EST) on the suppression of labor rights by the Philippine government. Rivera faced-off with government officials led by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz at the hearing held by the US Trade Representative (USTR).

“PALEA presents a significant case in reviewing whether or not the Philippines have taken or taking steps to afford workers their internationally recognized rights. We submit that Philippine government has abused its power to assume jurisdiction (AJ) of strikes thereby curtailing workers’ rights to freely organize and bargain collectively. PALEA was not allowed to strike on two crucial occasions to protest the mass termination of some 2,600 workers and yet Philippine Airlines (PAL) was permitted to proceed with the layoff despite a pending case at the Court of Appeals,” Rivera argued before the USTR subcommittee on the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).

This is not the first time that the government, specifically Sec. Baldoz, had to face inquiries abroad on the handling of the PAL-PALEA labor row on outsourcing and contractualization. Last December 7, Baldoz was questioned by a delegate to the International Labor Organization regional meeting in Kyoto, Japan on PALEA’s protest.

Aside from Rivera, Josua Mata of the Alliance of Progressive Labor and Brian Campbell of the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) also spoke before the hearing to corroborate PALEA’s testimony and paint the “big picture” on the state of labor rights. On the government side, Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, Labor Undersecretary Rebecca Chato, Ambassador Jose Cuisia, Jr. and other Philippine embassy officials accompanied Baldoz.

At stake at the hearing are trade benefits accorded by the United States government to countries which it deems respects core labor rights and standards. The GSP subcommittee which held the hearing for the “review of country practices” includes representatives of the USTR, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, Department of State and Department of Treasury. The Philippines was put under scrutiny based on the petition filed by the ILRF, a DC-based advocacy organization.

Rivera also met with the top union officials of the AFL-CIO and its constituent organizations to solicit support for its fight against contractualization and boycott campaign. Among those which expressed concern and solidarity was the Association of Flight Attendants which will include PALEA’s plight in its upcoming “Occufly” protest in California on February. US-based unions and Fil-Am groups are spearheading boycott campaigns in the West Coast cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Vancouver where PAL has its most profitable flights.

Rivera’s testimony came on the heels of renewed protests by PALEA yesterday. Members of PALEA together with Partido ng Manggagawa held a motorcade from the protest camp to PAL’s offices at the airport, PNB Building in Macapagal Ave. and Allied Bank Building in Ayala.

Watching intently PAL’s sale to new owner: PALEA welcomes Chinese new year with Ayala motorcade and impeachment rally

Press Release

January 24, 2012

PALEA

The Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) welcomed the Chinese new year with a motorcade today to highlight its call to new investors of Philippine Airlines (PAL) for the reinstatement of retrenched workers. PALEA is “watching intently” not necessarily of “welcoming enthusiastically” reports of PAL’s sale to interested investors such as Ramon Ang of SMC and Manny Pangilinan of Metro Pacific.

Nonetheless the union is hoping that a new owner may lead to a breakthrough to resolve the labor dispute. “PALEA’s fight continues in the year of the water dragon. This promises to be the year of PALEA’s return to work,” averred Bong Palad, PALEA secretary.

At 10:00 am, the PALEA motorcade left the protest camp outside the PAL In-Flight Center then proceeded to the Nichols offices onto the Allied Bank Building at Ayala where Lucio Tan holds office then the Senate for the impeachment trial and ended at the airline headquarters at the PNB building at

Macapagal Ave.

.

At the Senate grounds, Palad insisted that “The ‘Coronavela’ is a case of the teapot calling the kettle black and the kettle accusing the teapot it is unclean. Pnoy and Corona may be fighting over Gloria Arroyo and Hacienda Luisita but both are beholden to Lucio Tan as revealed by the plight of PALEA and the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association (FASAP).”

 “Since Lucio Tan has been closed to even talking with PALEA, then any change in PAL’s management leaves open the possibility of a change in attitude to the protracted labor dispute,” Palad said. He explained that “PAL’s new owners may in the end be no different from Lucio Tan as regards its attitude to PALEA. But as it stands now, anybody but Lucio Tan is better. So in the meantime, PALEA’s fight continues and it demands of any new owner the reinstatement of retrenched workers to their regular jobs,” Palad explained.

Contrary to Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda’s view that investments by a new owner in PAL will lead to improve image, PALEA insists that only the return of the locked out skilled and experienced workers will make PAL fly again. “PAL’s operations have deteriorated not because of a lack of finances and shiny new planes but because of the ‘palpak’ service by inexperienced contractuals and scabs. It is not a refleeting but the reinstatement of PALEA members that will lead to PAL’s return to normalcy. Bring back PALEA members and PAL will soar again in three days,” Palad asserts.

He also revealed that PALEA president Gerry Rivera is set to testify on tomorrow (January 24 noon EST) at Washington DC on the repression of labor rights by the government. PALEA has been invited to the hearing by the US Trade Representative on the petition by the government for trade benefits under the GSP (general system of preferences). Countries which respect internationally core labor rights and standards receive preferential treatment from the US.

Saulog Sinulog alang kang Sr. Sto. Nino, Pit Senyor!!!