Strike agreement signed

Strike agreement signed

MANILA (AFP): Philippine Airlines (PAL) management and union
leaders signed an agreement before Labor Secretary Leonardo
Quisumbing yesterday ending a four-day strike that has disrupted
air traffic.

The agreement called on all strikers to return to work by
noon, today and negotiations for a new collective bargaining
agreement (CBA) would resume this month, officials said.

The agreement also guaranteed that there would be no
retaliation against the PAL ground crews who went on strike on
Oct. 30 and defied a subsequent Labor Department order to return
to work.

A PAL statement said eight international and 36 domestic
flights had been canceled yesterday, and 11 international and 18
domestic flights were scheduled to be pushed through despite
delays.

Airline spokesmen said some strikers returned to work before
the agreement was signed, but would give no estimates of how
many.

The picketlines at the city's airports had disappeared before
it was announced that both sides would sign an accord, observers
said.

During the strike, PAL, the largest domestic carrier in the
Philippines, had maintained a reduced service using management
staff and hiring outsiders.

The striking union, the PAL Employees' Association (PALEA)
which groups PAL's ground employees, including mechanics, cargo
handlers, maintenance crew and ticket counter workers, called the
strike to demand higher wages.

But they also accused the airline of "union busting" by
contracting out some services.