PAL says strike over, downsizing

PAL says strike over, downsizing

MANILA (Reuters): Philippine Airlines unilaterally declared an end to a six-day strike yesterday which has crippled its operations and said it was looking for new pilots.

The announcement came as a surprise to the striking pilots, who maintained that talks were continuing with the government and PAL management.

The Philippine flag carrier also said it now planned to operate a limited international network and an expanded domestic service.

"The strike is over and a downsized Philippine Airlines emerges from the ... illegal walkout (by pilots)," the airline said in a statement.

Members of the 620-strong Airline Pilots Association of the Philippines who failed to comply with a Labor Department order to return to work have now lost their jobs, the company said.

"We were surprised when the statement was faxed to us. As far as we know, our officers are still meeting with the Labor Secretary and PAL management," association spokesman Aimee Gloria told Reuters.

Labor Secretary Cresenciano Trajano yesterday arranged a last- minute meeting between the strikers and PAL management.

"Hopefully, if they can mull over their respective positions and possible accommodations overnight ... they will come to some better appreciation of the total problem by tomorrow and that might lead to some accommodations," President Fidel Ramos told reporters.

The pilots went on strike on Friday to protest against the sacking of a union member and a cut in crew rest periods during stopovers on trans-Pacific flights.

"We are putting an ad in all newspapers tomorrow," PAL spokesman Rollie Estabillo said, referring to the plan to hire new pilots.

He said he could not say how many new pilots would be hired. PAL vice-president Manolo Aquino said it could take more than a month to train the new pilots before the airline could resume its normal flight schedule.

Only 20 percent of daily flights, mostly on domestic routes, are now running, led by 33 management pilots. The airline was operating only two of its regular 26 international outbound flights yesterday.

Estabillo said PAL was considering closing down some operations if its finances deteriorated further. "We're looking into that. We're still trying to decide on what to do," he said.

PAL said it would sell or lease several of its 54 aircraft, including newly acquired planes from Airbus Industrie and Boeing Co, to improve its cash-flow.

It plans to deploy its long-haul aircraft on domestic routes. PAL, which is suffering losses due to its oversized bureaucracy and heavy debt burden, is losing 150 to 200 million pesos ($3.75 to $5 million) in revenues daily as a result of the dispute.