PAL plans to employ laid-off RI pilots<\/p>\n
MANILA, Philippines (AP): Financially embattled Philippine
\nAirlines (PAL) is planning to hire laid-off Indonesian pilots to
\nreplace Filipino pilots who went on strike and brought the
\nairline close to collapse, an official said yesterday.<\/p>\n
PAL has sent officials to Jakarta to screen hundreds of pilots
\nlaid off by at least four Indonesian carriers hurt by the
\nrupiah's sharp fall, senior vice president Avelino Zapanta said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian carriers, which together laid off more than
\n1,000 pilots, include national airline Garuda Indonesia and
\nSempati Air. The latter closed June 1 because of huge financial
\nlosses.<\/p>\n
Zapanta said PAL currently has 83 pilots, including some union
\nmembers who have returned to work, but needs a total of 200 to
\nhandle its scaled down operations following the 18-day pilots'
\nstrike.<\/p>\n
He said Indonesian pilots fly the same types of aircraft used
\nby PAL, which would allow the airline to save on training costs
\nand time.<\/p>\n
The 625-member pilots' union went on strike June 5 to protest
\nan airline plan to retire certain pilots who have reached 20
\nyears of service or flown 20,000 hours, regardless of age.<\/p>\n
The plan put 225 pilots in danger of forced retirement, the
\nunion says.<\/p>\n
On Friday, PAL flight attendants and ground personnel
\nthreatened to join the work stoppage, which has pushed Asia's
\noldest airline to the brink of closure.<\/p>\n
The ground workers' union filed a strike notice with the labor
\ndepartment accusing PAL of union busting and harassment. The
\nflight attendants' union said it also plans a strike vote.<\/p>\n
PAL chairman and business magnate Lucio Tan urged the two
\nunions not to strike and pledged not to pursue sanctions against
\nthem if they agree to suspend the terms of existing collective
\nbargaining agreements for five years. Both unions refused.<\/p>\n
PAL filed a rehabilitation plan Friday with Manila's
\nSecurities and Exchange Commission, saying it is unable to meet
\npayments on its loans, estimated at US$ 2 billion, because of
\ndrastically reduced cash flow.<\/p>\n
The pilots' strike has cost the company more than 2 billion
\npesos ($50 million) in lost revenue, PAL says.<\/p>\n
\"PAL has sufficient assets to cover obligations but we want to
\nprevent creditors from panicking and starting to haul away our
\nassets,\" Zapanta said, adding the airline will pursue an orderly
\nsettlement of obligations.<\/p>\n
As part of its rehabilitation plan, the airline says it will
\nlay off 40 percent of its 13,000-member work force, dispose of 40
\nof its 54 planes, suspend more than two-thirds of its routes and
\nsell some subsidiaries.<\/p>\n
It said Thursday it will decide in three months whether it
\nwill shut down after seeing the results of the rehabilitation
\nplan.<\/p>\n
PAL says it lost 8 billion pesos ($202 million) in the fiscal
\nyear that ended March 31 - the biggest loss in its 57-year
\nhistory.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pal-plans-to-employ-laid-off-ri-pilots-1447893297",
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