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.