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.