MANILA – Disgruntled ground workers of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) are just a step away from holding a legal protest after initial results of its strike vote Tuesday showed inclination for a work stoppage.
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Gerry Rivera, president of the PAL Employees Association (Palea), said over 90 percent of the union’s 3,700 members are ready to join the strike against the management.
The ground union earlier accused PAL of forcing 2,600 employees to accept the severance package under the outsourcing program approved by the labor department last October 29.
As per department results, the call center reservations had an 84 percent turnout with 86 percent voting “Yes”. In the outlying stations such as Puerto Princesa, Cagayan de Oro and IloIlo, some 80 percent of the members voted and 80 percent of them affirmed the strike plan.
Not all the outlying stations however have transmitted the results. These include the Terminal 2 of the Manila International Airport, the international cargo terminal, the in-flight catering department and the Mactan airport in Cebu.
“Nonetheless Palea expects the trend to continue until Tuesday midnight. Palea also reported that the voting was orderly and peaceful,” said Rivera.
The Palea leadership will decide on its next move after the final results of the strike vote is canvassed. The labor department earlier said the union has to wait seven more days before doing the actual strike. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)