Press Release
August 10, 2013
PALEA
The Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA)
called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to immediately suspend assistant Diosdado
Solidum Jr. and to dismiss the case against its 241 members. Solidum was
arrested in an entrapment operation Thursday night for extorting P2.5 million from
PALEA members in return for the dropping of charges for violation of Section 81 of the Civil
Aviation Authority Act (CAAA).
“The
arrest of Solidum is but a small step in our quest for justice. We hope that it
will pave the way for the dismissal of the harassment case against PALEA. The
protest PALEA launched against outsourcing in September 27, 2011 in our
workplace was a Constitutionally-guaranteed right to seek redress of grievances
and does not fall under the provisions of the CAAA which concerns disruption
and destruction of airport services and facilities,” declared Gerry Rivera,
PALEA president and vice chair of Partido ng Manggagawa.
Rivera
added that “PALEA
will fight all lawbreakers whether in barongs or in suits. PALEA members are
victims of injustice not once but twice. First, some 2,000 workers were
retrenched in a failed outsourcing scam and 241 members were charged in court
for protesting. Then prosecutor Solidum tried to extort from retrenched and
jobless workers,”
PALEA
hailed DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima for authorizing the entrapment operation. “We
need more de Limas and less Solidums in government if workers are to have a
chance at attaining some measure of justice in this system. Truly the wheels of
justice turn slow for workers but the arrest of Solidum should send a signal to
all that the labor movement will fight to win.” Rivera ended.
PALEA
and the new management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) under the San Miguel group are
still in negotiations over the union’s demand for the return of retrenched workers
to their regular jobs. Meanwhile the union continues to garner support as the European
Transport Workers Federation (ETF) welcomed the talks between PAL and PALEA to
settle the long-running dispute.
In
a statement released in mid-July after the announcement of the lifting of the European
Union ban on PAL flights to the continent (http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/9299),
the ETF urged PAL to “come to a full and fair settlement.”
Further, delegates
to the June 2013 Asia Pacific conference of the International Transport Workers
Federation (ITF) restated their solidarity with PALEA. ITF civil aviation
secretary Gabriel Mocho promised the full support of all affiliates to use
whatever legal means necessary to ensure justice for PALEA.
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