Philippine Airlines (PAL) will reportedly go ahead with plans to outsource its contact center, despite a labour dispute that threatens to escalate into strike action. After running a 40-year old IT system, the countrys flag carrier Philippine Airlines is outsourcing this function in what is seen a major move of the beleaguered legacy airline to bring its operation more cost efficient and globally competitive.
Employees in the airlines’ three departments – contact center operations, airport services and inflight catering – are expected to be absorbed by PAL’s partner service providers. By trimming its workforce to just over 4,000 from its current 7,000, the company expects to make major savings in monthly salary costs.
Three hundred contact center workers – who handle reservations and bookings via phone, email, fax transmissions for all PAL flights will be outsourced. In a June 15 decision, the Department of Labour and Employment said that the intended closure of Philippine Airlines airport services, in-flight catering, and call center reservation operations, the employment severance of its workers, and the contracting out of these operations to the named service providers are based on lawful ground.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has asked government to rule on an appeal filed by workers who are contesting the companys plan to outsource 2,600 jobs. This was announced by PAL president Jaime Bautista early evening of Thursday, four hours after it met with government mediators and representatives of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) at the National Mediation and Conciliation Board (NCMB) office in Manila. PAL have asked the [Department of Labor and Employment] to decide on the merits of the case. And they are requesting that they make a decision based on submitted documents. Managementshall await the resolution of the Motion for Reconsideration, without prejudice to further consultation should any significant development arises or an offer from the union is communicated to management.
Rank and file employees in airport services are estimated at 2,000 while those working in inflight catering and call center operations are around 300 each. The decision was later appealed by PALEA members, saying, among others, that outsourcing runs contrary to the 1995-2000 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between PAL and PALEA. The matter is pending at the DOLE, for its part, PALEA is mystified as to why PAL intends to rush the Labor Department into making a decision. The union prefers that conciliation meetings be held further on the matter and the decision to issue be held in abeyance pending talks between PAL and PALEA. The union further said that it further manifests that PAL is in the better position to offer by scrapping the termination of the +/- 2,600 employees. Philippine Airlines (PAL) has no plan to rehire its retrenched workers, PAL President Jaime Bautista said in an interview, Thursday after its conciliation meeting organized by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Bautista made the statement amid the accusations of the Philippine Airline Employees Association (PALEA) that it is merely changing the status of its regular employees to contractual to avoid giving their due benefits. Bautista said that they are in a crisis, and need to retrench some of our workers in order for PAL to survive.
Strict passenger safety standards will remain in place at Philippine Airlines (PAL) even if a number of its non-core functions have been outsourced. This was the assurance given by PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna after union members hinted on Tuesday that outsourcing may compromise passenger safety. Controls will be in place,” she told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. Workers will still undergo training and will be required to comply with standards.”