PAL union votes to go on strike over absence of CBA negotiations

MANILA, Philippines – Rank-and-file employees of the flag carrier Philippine Airlines have voted to go on strike after management has refused to negotiate for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), according to a statement issued by its union, the Philippine Airlines Employees Association, Friday.

“The massive vote for a strike is an expression of protest at the 13-year long suspension of the CBA and the planned ‘contractualization’… Our demand for new CBA negotiations has remained unheeded for the past five months thus we are forced to go on strike,” Palea president Gerry Rivera said.

“A strike can still be stopped if PAL stops breaking promises and instead opens negotiations without any preconditions,” he said.

The union said the nationwide tally showed 95 percent of PAL employees voting for a strike, which is expected to paralyze PAL’s operations and leave a vacuum in in the air transport sector.

Palea represents over half of the airline’s 7,000 employees.