THE Clark airport workers' union, Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa DMIA (SMD), assailed the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) management for failing to address the employees' issues amid the impending privatization of the airport operation and maintenance.

Dennis Lumanlan, president of the SMD, said their group consisting of 345 employees filed a notice of strike before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board on December 14 on grounds of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) deadlock and unfair labor practice.

“The CIAC management has left us with no choice but to wage a strike. We have exhausted all efforts to resolve our issues,” the workers' union official statement stated.

The SMD added that the CIAC management repeatedly failed to address employees’ problems both individually and collectively.

“This is precisely the reason why we tried to reach out to them many times,” SMD said.

The Clark airport workers also stressed their concern about their security of tenure and fair compensation once the airport is privatized.

“This is the only way to get their attention and show them we are serious about negotiating for a better job security and fair compensation for employees,” the SMD stated.

In December 2018, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority in partnership with the Department of Transportation, has awarded the operations and maintenance contract of Clark airport to a consortium led by the Changi AIrport Group.

The group, North Luzon Airport Consortium, composed of Changi Airports Philippines Pte. Ltd.; Filinvest Development Corporation; JG Summit Holdings, Inc.; and Philippine Airport Ground Support Solution, Incorporated.

The consortium is set to take over the existing airport passenger terminal and the new one which is being constructed by Megawide Construction Corporation and GMR Infrastructure Ltd. under a contract of 25 years.