Aviation industry workers protest mass layoffs

Aviation industry workers have vowed to hold mass actions once their concerns on mass retrenchment to be caused by the operation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 are not immediately acted upon by the government.

Officers and members of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA), MIASCOR Workers Union and other airport service companies met to plan their move against the impending wholesale loss of jobs once the Terminal 3 to be operated by the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (PIATCO) starts operating next year.

Alex Barrientos, PALEA president, said the government did not take into consideration the interests of both private and government workers now working at the NAIA Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 when it signed a contract with PIATCO for the construction of the Terminal 3 in Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

Barrientos said no less than 10,000 private and government workers will lose their jobs. To be affected are employees of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), PAL, Dnata Wings Aviation System Corp., MIASCOR Aircraft Maintenance Corp., MIASCOR Grand Handing Corp., MIASCOR Catering Services Corp., MIASCOR Logistics Corp., MacroAsia-Eurest Catering Services Corp., MacroAsia Menzies Corp. and other service companies.

He said what was only considered by the government were the interests of the foreign and local investors of Terminal 3. "We invited foreign investments but in the process we killed local investors and rendered thousands of workers jobless," he added.

Jun Agan, president of the MIASCOR Workers Union, appealed to the government to give justice and be fair to existing workers who will lose their jobs by the operations of Terminal 3.

The workers said although the amended and restated agreement between the government and PIATCO was signed during the time of former President Estrada, President Arroyo could still review the onerous provisions and have them amended.