Looks like the worst is yet over from flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) as its ground crew union filed a new notice of strike last Friday before the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Citing unfair labor practices, the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) through its president Gerry Rivera, accused the PAL managers of talking with employees individually, convincing them to accept the mass layoff which will be implemented because of the planned outsourcing of the airline company. The said outsourcing of some services by PAL has already been approved by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

Rivera said they decided to file the notice of strike because the said attempt by the management to convince union members individually constitutes interference in their right to self-organization. “These are issues separate although related to the question of the mass layoffs recently decided by the labor secretary,” he added.

The new notice of strike is the second by PALEA this year. The first was last January wherein the union, representing more than half of the company’s rank and file employees, threatened a strike when it learned of the airline’s management’s plan to outsource its services.

Services that would be outsourced would include in-flight catering operations, airport services and call center reservations, which is said to affect 2,600 employees. The PAL management, for its part, said the outsourcing of services will help them save on costs and make the company more competitive.

Last October, DOLE ruled that the outsourcing plan was “a legal exercise of management prerogative,” which prevented the PALEA from pushing through with the first strike plan. In their recent notice however, PALEA charged management with bargaining directly with union members which it said “is tantamount to interference with, restraint, and coercion of employees in the exercise of their right to self-organization.”

Rivera said the mass layoff, which will lead to the dismissal of 62 percent of the present union leadership is tantamount to union busting. “The 1,000 union members who will remain then will be the subject of the next round of outsourcing which is already in management’s drawing boards and will be perfectly legal using the Baldoz decision as a precedent,” he said.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 6th, 2010 at 4:35 am and is filed under Announcements, Employee, Government, Jobs, Law, Leadership, Legal, Management, Philippine Business News, Philippines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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A Qatar-based telecommunications company is looking to increase further its investment on Philippine soil. Qatar Telecom QSC (QTel), has a minimal investment in a local listed firm, Liberty Telecommunications Holdings, Inc. The company, through its chairman Abdul Bin Saud Al-Thani, said that prospects in the Philippine telecommunications were so good that they feel that new investments are needed to be made, especially on the data side of the business.

According to Al-Thani, the key technologies that the company was looking at included further advancements in global system for mobile communications (GSM) technology and next-generation mobile wireless broadband technology long-term evolution (LTE). “We’re exploring more investments in telecoms, not just in mobile voice, but also in information technology. Additional investments will be needed, and we’re willing to make those investments,” he said during an interview at the Philippine Business Conference and Expo held recently.

Al-Thani however did not disclose the amount of additional investment that QTel would be having with Liberty. He only said that a comprehensive development plan is needed to be crafted first to determine how much the telecom firm new project would costs. At present, the company has 32 percent investment at the local telecommunications holding firm and QTel is planning to increase it by purchasing additional shareholdings. “We will look at that, up to the maximum allowed by law. In another country, we own as much as 80 percent of the company,” he added.

QTel’s expansion in the Philippines would involve further investments in Liberty, but Al-Thani said that it has no exclusivity agreement with Liberty, it respected its relations with Liberty’s parent company, San Miguel Corporation (SMC). “SMC is our partner and we honor our friendship. Our relationship is beyond partnership. We have a good bond. We are friends,” he said.

Al-Thani also added that the Philippines has always been in their plans and in fact has been in their “radar screen” for a long time. He acknowledges that “the Philippines is a growing market, a high-end market, and there are lot of prospects here, not only in voice. We want to explore the future of telecom technology.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 16th, 2010 at 12:32 am and is filed under Announcements, Corporations, Entrepreneur Philippines, Management, Philippine Business News, Philippines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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