TOKYO — President Aquino warned striking employees of Philippine Airlines (PAL) that protesting workers could face charges, including economic sabotage, for holding a strike at the height of typhoon “Pedring” last Tuesday.
PAL suspended all flights after airline employees staged a wildcat strike to protest the impending termination of 2,600 workers.
PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said the company’s management canceled the flights after members of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) refused to work.
Some 172 PAL domestic and international flights were reportedly affected.
Over coffee with the media Tuesday night at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, the President admitted he thought about economic sabotage when he learned about the strike.
“But my lawyers are looking at how clear it (economic sabotage) is. What is clear right now is under the Civil Aviation Act of 2008, any disruption is punishable,” he said.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma said the President discussed the issue with Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel Roxas II.
The President, Roxas and Coloma, along with other officials, were here for Aquino’s official working visit that started last Sunday.
Continue Reading at philstar
