Manila: The Philippine flag carrier's woes concerning the lack of pilots to fly its fleet is just a reflection of the problems experienced by the country's labour and professional sectors, a lawmaker said.
"Brain drain is one of the repercussions of the poor labour practices. We are now experiencing the brunt of brain drain," Senator Ramon Bong Revilla said.
Revilla issued the statement yesterday several days after at least 25 pilots of Philippine Airlines (PAL) resigned, leaving the national flag carrier with only a handful of pilots to fly its Airbus fleet.
The pilots said the main reason behind their resignations was to seek better pay and benefits offered to them by airlines based abroad.
Revilla said the recent resignation only mirror's the country's weak labour laws and inability to protect its working class.
He cited the claim of PAL pilots that they do not have security of tenure and that there have been plans by the airline company to offer them limited contracts instead of hiring them as regular employees. The move, they claim, will deprive them of certain benefits.
Rampant practice
Revilla said labour contractualisation is now rampant in the Philippines and had resulted in the widespread displacement of workers in Luzon and in Visayas.
"It also contributes to the high unemployment rate and even higher underemployment," he said, adding that it empowers companies while leaving the helpless workers on a much disadvantaged position.
Under the labour-only contractualisation, companies hire workers for a period of three to six months. Workers are not entitled to all benefits, rights and privileges of a regular employee.
"Contractualisation is slowly creeping into our labour system. It first started in manufacturing and services industries. It now reached our professionals. Their expertise are in demand abroad, they do not have a choice but to leave the Philippines, where the labour system is perceived to deprive them of their rights," he said.
He said the same situation had also confronted other fields in the past, especially the health care sector.
"Hospitals are shorthanded with competent and efficient nurses because the experienced ones are working abroad. They are easily tempted to get out of the country because hospitals here are hiring on contractual basis," he further cited.
