PAL urged to pay labor claim

PAL urged to pay labor claim

MANILA (DPA): Employees of the country's flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Saturday urged the airline management to pay them one billion pesos (US$25 million) for allegedly distorting the airline's wage structure.

The Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) urged President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to compel PAL's majority stockholder, tobacco magnate Lucio Tan, to pay claims that were based on a distortion complaint filed 17 years ago.

"President Arroyo should ask Lucio Tan to comply with fair labor laws duly passed by the government," said PALEA President Bong Penas III.

The PALEA has filed for the 1-billion-peso claim before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after the country's Supreme Court and the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) ruled that PAL failed to correct a distorted wage system that was based on presidential issuances by former President Ferdinand Marcos.

The distortion in the airline's wage system was disadvantageous to its employees, PALEA said.