Tan leaving PAL, blames workers

Voltaire Tupaz

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The PAL Employees Association (Palea), however, welcomes the tycoon's impending departure, suggesting that the flag carrier is better off without him

LUCIO TAN. The tycoon is selling his  stake in the Philippine Airlines (PAL) to local and foreign investors. File photo by AFP

MANILA, Philippines – Tycoon Lucio Tan is leaving the airline business, and he is blaming workers for his departure.

“The union” is the reason why he is selling his 51% stake in Philippine Airlines (PAL) Holdings Inc to local and foreign investors, Tan told reporters on the sidelines of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilpinas 20th anniversary celebration on Saturday, July 20. 

“It depends on the offer,” Tan said without identifying the potential buyers he is in talks with. 

PAL has been hounded by strikes from ground crew, flight attendants, and pilots since the airline laid off at least 2,600 of its employees in 2010.

In April, PAL signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (Fasap) for the 2010-2015 collective bargaining agreement (CBA), but it continues to face other labor problems with other unions.

Bad business management

The PAL Employees Association (Palea) welcomed Tan’s impending departure from PAL, suggesting that the flag carrier is better off without the tycoon. 

“It’s time for PAL to fly to greater heights without Lucio Tan on board,” Palea president Gerry Rivera told Rappler.

According to Rivera, the labor disputes between PAL and its 3 unions is an indication of Tan’s “bad business management, and not the cause of PAL’s problems,” Rivera stressed.

“Their business paradigm of outsourcing the company’s profit centers in the hands of unskilled workforce shows lack of knowledge and skills in the airline business. Their philosophy of profit-first over quality service drove away PAL’s valued customers,” Rivera explained.

Grossly unfair

Rivera, whose union is demanding that its 646 members be reinstated to their regular work, lambasted Tan for blaming the workers for the woes of the flag carrier.

“It is grossly unfair to the loyal and dedicated workers of PAL to pass the blame on them for what PAL has become,” Rivera said.

The Lucio Tan group’s acquisition of PAL from the government in the mid-1990s was very controversial. The flag carrier was the beer and tobacco magnate’s first foray into non-allied business interests.

PAL is currently controlled and managed by San Miguel Corp, the Philippines’ biggest business group. – Rappler.com

 

 

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