Projecf In

THED 4
(PhiIippine AirIines EmpIoyee's
Associofion Pefrenchmenf Cose)



Possed by: Morcos, EmmonueI
MonfoIes, Moriono III, P.
Secfion: 3 - APS
Possed fo: Professor Jessfer Fonseco
I. PhiIippine AirIines EmpIoyee's Associofion
Pefrenchmenf Cose (Phenomeno)

A.) The GIobaI Economy

The global economy right now is suffering many problems. The world has still not
escaped the ravaging effects of the previous global recession. Although, the world is
now recovering, there are evidences and happenings that suggest the global economy's
recovery could be melting away or just undergoing a sticky patch. Many economic
problems challenged the world. Recently, many unexpected events really took blow on
the world especially the tsunami in Japan, the high fuel prices and the tightening
monetary policy in some countries.

The tsunami in Japan greatly affected the world. ts GDP really went down. We all
know that Japan is one of the most important countries. The problem in Japan really
affected many countries also the Philippines. Japan has some of the world's greatest
companies. Because of the latest tragedy there, those companies really suffered losses.

Fuel prices have always been increasing and are not stable. We have always been
worrying about the possible increases in gas prices. More importantly, the Arab world
which produces the largest oil products is now in political turmoil. There have been
political unrest in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, Syria and many other Arab countries.
The most famous of this is in Libya where Moammar Gadhafi's regime has been
overthrown. Because of these happenings, the world worried about the possible
increase in gas prices.

The world is now in the brink of nervousness. Many emerging economies have
tightened monetary policy in response to high inflation. The examples of these
economies are ndia and China. There is another possibility of a global recession. The
global economy supports this unwanted tragedy again. The world has still not fully
recovered from the previous global recession. Problems could get worse if there is
another global recession again.

The United States of America is now suffering many economic problems. The
unemployment rate in the country really boomed. President Obama proposed an
economic stimulus fund which is bound to save the USA's economy.Recently, an
economic firm downgraded the credit rating of the USA from AAA+ to AA+. This really
surprised the world. Wall Street panicked because of this. n a parallel dynamic, the
euro zone is also suffering many economic problems just like the USA. Greece
experienced debt crisis. Spain also is just like Greece who has its debt problems.
Recently, an economic firm downgraded also the credit rating of taly from AA+ to A+.
This shows that Europe is really suffering. All of the countries of the world are now
suffering many economic problems. The Philippines is not an exception. The fate of the
global economy is now in the hands of the world leaders who could either save the
global economy or maintain it in a sticky patch or worse cause the melting away of the
global economy's recovery.


B.) PALEA Outsourcing

The Philippine Airlines said that its recent retrenchment or outsourcing of its 2600
employees is due to the high fuel prices, the political unrest in the Middle East and the
tragedy in Japan. PAL is retrenching employees its three non-core operations
departments namely its in-flight catering, call center reservations and airport service.
PAL said it was retrenching because of the effects of the global economy's slowdown.
PAL cited a $301.4-million loss at the end of its fiscal year last March 2009, PAL
president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista announced intentions of employing
cost-cutting measures to stay afloat.Among these measures include a plan to reduce
labor costs, which accounts for 18 percent of PAL's yearly expenses. From 2008-2009,
total expenses reached $361 million. Bautista said the company seeks to put manpower
costs at a single digit level, aimed at saving at least P1 billion. t is believed that in 2008
and 2009, PAL lost $312 million. n 2010, it posted $72.5 million in comprehensive net
income, but reported a $10.6 million loss in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
But the Philippine Airlines Employees Association claims that PAL actually earned more
than $72.5 million in its last fiscal year from April 2010 to March 2011, since it paid
$46.5 million in outstanding debt last June 7, 2010. Even granting PAL's reasoning that
its profitability is cyclical; such falls short of jurisprudence that sustained losses are a
necessary ground for retrenchment. t was also claimed that PAL will earn $1.6 billion
in profit this year. Yet it refuses to share the fruits of production with its employees via a
Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The retrenchment of all the 2600 PAL employees became effective on September
30, 2011. The Department of Labor and Employment and President Noynoy said that
thisis legitimate exercise of management prerogative. The retrenchment was done to
ensure the survival and the company of PAL and also to save its remaining 5000
employees. PALEA claimed that the outsourcing was done to implement
"contractualization in which they claim would be unfair to them, "union busting
because the outsourcing threw more than 60 percent of the union leadership in which
62 percent of the PALEA leadership was terminated and 70 percent of the union
membership was also terminated and "keeping profit because they claimed PAL
outsourced them to save profits. The terminated workers decided to hold strikes. On
September 27, 2011, it was reported that some 300 PAL workers who reported for work
walked out on 7 a.m. and this caused the cancellation of 172 domestic and international
flights affecting 14000 passengers. Earlier, PAL president Jaime Bautista assured
affected workers of the following benefits:
O Separation pay of 125percent of their basic monthly salary for every year of
service;
O Gratuity of P100,000 per affected employee (a P50,000 increase per the latest
Malacaang order);
O One-hundred percent (100%) commutation to cash of unused vacation leave and
sick leave balances;
O One-year extension of the medical and hospitalization benefits; and
O Trip pass benefits depending on the number of years of service.
The "non-core operations handled by the terminated employees will be handed to
third-party service providers' SPi Global, Sky Kitchen and Sky Logistics. Earlier, PAL
gave its terminated employees termination notice so that they could meet the Sept. 9
deadline for them to signify their willingness to be rehired by Sky Kitchen, Sky Logistics
and SPi Global Holdings nc. t was alleged that after being rehired the former regular
employees would become contractual employees with a starting pay of P11, 000 a
month for six days of work a week. PALEA accused this as union busting and regarded
the contractualization as unfair. The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) has
junked charges of unfair labor practice filed by the PAL Employees Association
(PALEA) against Philippine Airlines (PAL) for its alleged refusal to commence collective
bargaining negotiations with the union early this year.

n relation with the PALEA strike last Sept. 27, President Benigno Aquino has
ordered Palace lawyers to check whether Philippine Airlines employees could be
charged in connection with the cancellation of flights triggered by their work stoppage
amid heavy rains Tuesday. The President said he initially considered the move by the
PAL Employees' Association (Palea) as a form of "economic sabotage, but later
decided to allow his legal team to look more closely into the work stoppage.Quoting a
provision in the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008, he said the employees could be
"penalized with imprisonment ranging from one year to three years or a fine of not less
than P50,000, but not exceeding P500,000 or more as determined by the court.
Considered as "acts leading to the disruption of airport services, he noted, was the
refusal of an employee to "perform tasks such as personally manning checking
counters, to check in passengers.

.) TimeIine of the PALEA Outsourcing

O 5 October 2011: NLRC junks Palea suit vs PAL over CBA talks
O 2 October 2011: PAL not interested in resolving issue with PALEA
O 30 September 2011: PALEA stages last-ditch strike
PALEA all set for protests vs outsourcing
O 29 September 2011: PALEA strikers may face raps
O 28 September 2011: PALEA says protest continues, vows fight not over
O 27 September 2011: PALEA starts protest action vs. lockout
PALEA's strike amid 'Pedring' an 'insensitive' move -
Palace
O 18 August 2011: PNoy denies PALEA appeal, allows PAL to outsource
despite huge profit; PALEA slams PNoy fire-all-you-can policy
O April 1 2011: All systems go for nationwide strike
O March 27 2011: PALEA calls on members to prepare for nationwide strike
as countdown begins
O March 25 2011: PALEA regrets P-Noy decision on PAL, prepares for a
strike
PALEA files strike ballot results; 95% in favor of strike
O 8 March 2011: PALEA: PAL wants new indefinite CBA moratorium
O 7 March 2011: PALEA files notice of strike anew on PAL's refusal to
bargain
O 28 February 2011: PALEA formally asks PNoy to declare PAL outsourcing
illegal
O 20 February 2011: PAL profits belie outsourcing need
O 27 January 2011: Union delegation backs Philippine aviation workers
O 13 January 2011: Your help needed to maintain pressure at this crucial
time
Following intensive national union mobilisation and international solidarity
action, the office of President Aquino has taken over the jurisdiction of a
petition by our affiliate, the Philippine Airline Employees' Association
(PALEA), against mass dismissals at Philippine Airlines (PAL). Both the
PAL management and PALEA have been directed to desist from any
action while a solution is sought.
TF President Paddy Crumlin, and General Secretary David Cockroft,
wrote to President Aquino on 20th December welcoming his intervention
and urging him to find an acceptable resolution to the dispute that protects
jobs.
The TF is asking all Civil Aviation affiliates to personally deliver solidarity
letters to the Philippine embassy in their country in the week of 17 January
to help PALEA maintain pressure on the government at this crucial time.
O 21 December 2010: Union action leads to presidential intervention in
Philippine Airline dispute
O 15 December 2010: PALEA welcomes PNoy's order to suspend Baldoz
ruling
O 10 December 2010: 86% of PALEA members favour strike
O 9 December 2010: PM and PALEA welcome security of tenure bill
O 7 December 2010: PALEA strike vote: Large turnout of members,
overwhelming yes vote
O 7 December 2010: PALEA strike vote ongoing as union insists on its
legality
O 1 December 2010: General Secretary's blog: Filipino workers need our
support
O 23 July 2010: Airline employees in the Philippines fight sackings and
casual contracts













.) PALEA Outsourcing Under apitaIism

n another point, the Philippines is a democratic at the same it is a capitalist country.
The Americans brought capitalism and democracy to the Philippines. n democracy, we
have all our right rights and we have our freedom. We are free to earn "profit. The
Philippine Airlines outsourced its 2600 employees on the basis of capitalism because
the world or the global economy is run by capitalism. As we know, the global economy
which is run by capitalism is in peril right now because the United States of America is
suffering many economic problems and the euro zone is also suffering just like America.
There is another possibility of a global recession. The situation of the global economy is
critical.

Basically, capitalism means a system of economics in which money and
business are controlled by capitalists.According to Robert L Heilbroner, Capitalism is an
economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated
for profit, usually in competitive markets. There is no consensus on the precise
definition of capitalism, nor on how the term should be used as a historical category.
There is, however, little controversy that private ownership of the means of production,
creation of goods or services for profit in a market, and prices and wages are elements
of capitalism. The designation is applied to a variety of historical cases, varying in time,
geography, politics and culture. Karl Marx provided a differentia specifica for capitalism:
People sell their labouring-power to a buyer, not to satisfy the personal needs of the
buyer, but to augment the buyer's Capital. Other writers define capitalism as a system in
which all the means of production are privately owned, and some define it more loosely
as one in which merely "most" are in private hands. deology further complicates the
definition. Classical liberals such as Mises, Rand, and Rothbard define capitalism as a
market system with no interference by States (laissez faire}. Some define capitalism as
a system governed by capital accumulation regardless of the legal ownership titles.
Private ownership in capitalism implies the right to control property, including the
determination of how it is used, who uses it, whether to sell or rent it, and the right to the
revenue generated by the property. However, there may be an abandonment period of
time, after which resources return to unowned status. An economic system that relies
on private property and market relations but also contains a significant degree of
government intervention is sometimes called a mixed economy. Economists, political
economists and historians have taken different perspectives on the analysis of
capitalism. Economists usually emphasize the degree that government does not have
control over markets (laissez faire), and on property rights. Most political economists
emphasize private property, power relations, wage labor, class and emphasize
capitalism as a unique historical formation.[9]There is general agreement that capitalism
encourages economic growth. The extent to which different markets are free, as well as
the rules defining private property, is a matter of politics and policy, and many states
have what are termed mixed economies. Capitalism, as a deliberate economic system,
developed incrementally from the 16th century in Europe, although proto-capitalist
organizations existed in the ancient world, and early aspects of merchant capitalism
flourished during the Late Middle Ages. Capitalism became dominant in the Western
world following the demise of feudalism. Capitalism gradually spread throughout
Europe, and in the 19th and 20th centuries, it provided the main means of
industrialization throughout much of the world. Today the capitalist system is the world's
dominant economic model.










E.) Issues in the PALEA Outsourcing
1. ontractuaIization contracting is defined as an arrangement whereby a
principal agrees to put out or farm out with a contractor or subcontractor the
performance or completion of a specific job, work or service within a definite or
predetermined period regardless of whether such job, work or service is to be
performed or completed within or outside the premises of the principal. As a rule,
contracting or subcontracting is allowed by law. Hardly can a business produce
and sell products or services without dealing with contractors or subcontractors.
To contract out is proprietary right. The court said:
We recognize the proprietary right of San Miguel to exercise an inherent
management prerogative and its best business judgement to determine whether it
should contract out the performance of some its work to independent contractors.
However, the rights of all workers to self organization, collective bargaining and
negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in
accordance with law (Section 3, Article X, 1987 Constitution) equally call for
recognition and protection. Those contending interests must be placed in proper
perspective and equilibrium. (San Miguel Corp. Employees Union-PTGWO, June 13,
1990).
Similarly, in a Meralco case, the Supreme Court ruled that the employer cannot be
compelled to consult employees before engaging the services of contractors. The
management cannot be denied the faculty of promoting efficiency and attaining
economy by a study of what units are essential for its operation. t has ultimate
determination of whether services should be performed by its personnel or contracted to
outside agencies. While there should be mutual consideration, eventually deference is
to be paid to what management decides. Contracting out of services is an exercise of
business or management prerogative. Absent proof that management acted in a
malicious or arbitrary manner, the court will not interfere with the exercise of judgement
by an employer. The issue of contracting out has generated much debate and
litigations. On one hand, employers justify it as necessity in business operations
especially in this age of liberalized international trading. Labor groups, for their part,
maintain that the arrangement violates the rights of labor, particularly those on security
of tenure, employment benefits, and unionization.

2.) Union Busting The PAL outsourcing threw more than 60 percent of the union
leadership in which 62 percent of the PALEA leadership was terminated and 70 percent
of the union membership was also terminated.

3.) Profit Issue - The Philippine Airlines Employee's Association claims that PAL
actually earned more than $72.5 million in its last fiscal year from April 2010 to March
2011, since it paid $46.5 million in outstanding debt last June 7, 2010. Even granting
PAL's reasoning that its profitability is cyclical; such falls short of jurisprudence that
sustained losses are a necessary ground for retrenchment. t was also claimed that
PAL will earn $1.6 billion in profit this year. Yet it refuses to share the fruits of production
with its employees via a Collective Bargaining Agreement. According to Pope John Paul
in his aboremExercens,"The conflict originated in the fact that the workers put their
powers at the disposal of the entrepreneurs, and these, following the principle of
maximum profit, tried to establish the lowest possible wages for the work done by the
employees. n addition there were other elements of exploitation, connected with the
lack of safety at work and of safeguards regarding the health and living conditions of the
workers and their families.For certain supporters of such ideas, work was understood
and treated as a sort of "merchandise" that the worker-especially the industrial worker-
sells to the employer, who at the same time is the possessor of the capital, that is to
say, of all the working tools and means that make production possible. The workers are
not just mere clog in the production process. The workers are not just mere
merchandise. This way of thinking and principle is wrong.

4.) oIIective Bargaining Agreement - The National Labor Relations Commission
(NLRC), the labor relations arm of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE),
upheld PAL's stand that the issue on spin-off/outsourcing should be resolved first before
it proceeds to collective bargaining.PAL submitted to NLRC on March 28, 2011 its CBA
(collective bargaining agreement) counter-proposal that only includes rank-and-file
workers to be left behind after the outsourcing plan. Employees to be separated as a
result of the airline's restructuring program were excluded. NLRC Presiding
Commissioner Raul T. Aquino said the outsourcing issue must be resolved apart from
the CBA dispute and may not, therefore, be considered a stumbling block to the
continuation or completion of negotiations. The Commission said said PALEA's
insistence to include the outsourcing issue in the labor dispute and its "uncompromising
attitude caused the breakdown of negotiations. "The submission of PAL's counter-
proposal on March 28, 2011 is a positive indication of its intention to bargain
collectively, and if there was any delay in the negotiation it was due to the union's
hardline position to include the issue on 'outsourcing/spin-off' in the negotiation
notwithstanding the favorable rulings of the DOLE and the Office of the President. At
any rate, we find that the labor dispute on outsourcing is beyond the realm of CBA
negotiations as it has its own legal course to take, the Commission added. Citing
Article 252 of the Labor Code, the resolution added: "PAL's non-acceptance and
disagreement with PALEA's position did not amount to refusal to bargain as the duty to
bargain does not compel any party to just agree on a proposal of the other party. On
the 10-year CBA moratorium, NLRC said the same is inconsequential to the charge of
refusal to bargain. The moratorium, it stressed, was mutually agreed upon by both PAL
and the union and the issue was declared valid by the Supreme Court. t would be
recalled that bargaining negotiations for a new CBA were suspended for 10 years after
PAL underwent rehabilitation due to the financial crisis that hit the region and the global
aviation industry in 1998. The case was certified for compulsory arbitration on April 1,
2011 by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz after PAL's ground-crew union filed a notice
of strike with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) on account of
alleged unfair labor practice being committed.



II. AppIicofion of fhe Theories ond PrincipIes
of fhe Theorisfs
A.) KarI Marx
Marx considers the division of labor, which Aristotle sees as the foundation of his
perfect state, as a cause of alienation. According to Marx, it is necessary to abolish the
division of labor in order to put an end to the servitude of man. n his vision for
communism, the whole society must have both labor and leisure; every member of
society must be responsible for satisfying physical necessities. And, everyone must
have maximum leisure for self-development. Marx argues that the measure of wealth in
the communist society will be leisure, because the wealth of society will be measured by
its members' actualizing their potentialities, not by surplus value. While Aristotle projects
a perfect state by employing contrasts, such as labor and leisure, necessity and
freedom because according to him these contrasts were natural, Marx envisages the
resolution of these contrasts because according to him these contrasts are
contradictions. Marx argues that in the communist society the contradictions between
labor and leisure, between intellectual labor and bodily labor, between necessity and
freedom will be abolished. Although the realm of necessity and the realm of freedom will
continue to exist in all possible modes of productions, labor in the realm of necessity
can be free because it will be a free and conscious activity in the communist society.
Herbert Marcuse's views on labor, leisure and freedom are much nearer to those of Karl
Marx.
B.) Herbert Marcuse
Marcuse as a Marxist philosopher departs from Marx's thought, accepts his theory of
estrangement and employs his conception of the realm of necessity and the realm of
freedom. Marcuse investigates the advanced industrial society and the possibility of a
non-repressive society. He observes that the life of the individual is controlled in the
advanced society. Marcuse considers alienated labor as equal to toil. Labor time of the
individual is not for the sake of satisfying his needs, but for the requirements of the
capitalist system. Domination over leisure is added to domination over labor; domination
over the realm of production spreads to that of consumption. New control mechanisms,
media and false needs make the individual dependent on the capitalist system. The
advanced industrial society, by offering a wide variety of goods and services, increases
its control over the individuals. They feel themselves free and happy because they are
capable of satisfying these false needs. The advanced industrial society surrounds labor
time and leisure of the individual.
Therefore, labor and leisure are means of servitude in the advanced industrial
society. However, according to Marcuse technological developments also bring about
the foundations in which a non-repressive civilization could emerge: automation in the
process of production could abolish the necessity of labor. With complete automation,
leisure could provide an area in which the individual freely actualizes his
potentialities.Therefore, in Marcuse's thought leisure is the precondition of the realm of
freedom. However, Marcuse says that the transformation of labor as well as leisure is
necessary for the realm of freedom. According to him, "play is theactivity of the realm of
freedom. Free play of human faculties coincides with leisure, and play, is performed in
leisure. Consequently, labor and leisure are also seen as means of freedom in
Marcuse's thought.
.) Max Weber
According to the Pope John Paul in his aboremExercens, excessive bureaucratic
centralization makes the worker feel that he is just a cog in a huge machine moved
from above, that he is for more reasons than one a mere production instrument rather
than a true subject of work with an initiative of his own. The Church's teaching has
always expressed the strong and deep convinction that man's work concerns not only
the economy but also, and especially, personal values. The economic system itself and
the production process benefit precisely when these personal values are fully
respected. n the mind of Saint Thomas Aquinas, this is the principal reason in favour of
private ownership of the means of production. While we accept that for certain well
founded reasons exceptions can be made to the principle of private ownership-in our
own time we even see that the system of "socialized ownership" has been introduced-
nevertheless the personalist argument still holds good both on the level of principles
and on the practical level. f it is to be rational and fruitful, any socialization of the means
of production must take this argument into consideration. Every effort must be made to
ensure that in this kind of system also the human person can preserve his awareness of
working "for himself". f this is not done, incalculable damage is inevitably done
throughout the economic process, not only economic damage but first and foremost
damage to man.
Max Weber on the other hand explains in his theory on bureaucracy the following:
O Management by rules. A bureaucracy follows a consistent set of rules that control
the functions of the organization.
O Division of labor. Authority and responsibility are clearly defined and officially
sanctioned. Job descriptions are specified with responsibilities and line of
authority. All employees have thus clearly defined rules in a system of authority
and subordination.
O Formal hierarchical structure. An organization is organized into a hierarchy of
authority and follows a clear chain of command.
O Personnel hired on grounds of technical competence. Work is assigned based on
the experience and competence of the individual.
O Managers are salaried officials. A manager is a salaried official and does own the
administered unit. All elements of a bureaucracy are defined with clearly defined
roles and responsibilities and are managed by trained and experienced
specialists.
O Written documents. All decisions, rules and actions taken by the organization are
formulated and recorded in writing. Written documents ensure that there is
continuity of the organization's policies and procedures.
From here, we can say that in bureaucracy, using the words of Weber with support
from Pope John Paul in his aboremExercens, the case of PAL outsourcing and
contractualization is wherein the workers were just considered as mere tool for
production or a mere merchandise wherein they were sacrificed in the name of
production or the survival of PAL so that they could continuously make profit.
Workers were sacrificed in the name of profit. They were sacrificed for something
they didn't want because of economic reasons.
.) EmiIe urkheim
Emile Durkheim discussed the following:
Anomie - ndividuals are confronted with anomie when they are not faced with sufficient
moral constraint, when they do not have a clear concept of what is and what is not
proper or acceptable behaviour.Emile Durkheim's anomie is the same as the
bureaucracy of Weber, alienation of Marcuse and exploitation of Marx. n anomie, the
individual is alienated in a way his dignity is taken for granted. Applying this to the case
of PALEA, the workers were sacrificed for profit. The workers were considered as "mere
tools of production wherein production is much more important than the workers.





. The Sfond of fhe Church

The Church sides with PALEA. n a conference held by Church People and Workers
Solidarity in Cebu City on Sept. 12-15, church people and labor leaders threshed out
through a series of testimonies and workshops the problems of unjust laborpolicies in
the country. Participants came out with a statement at the conclusion of the four-day
convention stressing four primary concerns of Filipino workerscontractualization,
unjust wages, the violation of workers' right to organize and migration of Filipino
workers. "gnoring its inherent immorality, the legalization of contractualization allows
capital to violate the workers' basic right to security. Regular employees are now
terminated summarily and then coerced to re-apply as contractual laborers together with
new applicants, in total disregard of their many years of service, partly read the
conference statement which participants formulated at the end of the four-day
convention. The group decried the practice of contractualization which "deprives
workers of the benefits of tenure and prevents them from organizing themselves into
legitimate labor unions. They said the system is identical to a "modern version of
slavery, with contracting agencies simply replacing the slave traders of old. Highlighted
with excerpts from Catholic Church's social teachings, the statement also denounced
the practice of certain companies to ask workers "to sign vouchers certifying that they
are paid the minimum legal wage, when in fact, they have received less, under the
threat of termination.The statement likewise noted that both past and incumbent
administrations have done nothing much but to encourage more the continuous outflow
of migrant workers because of lack of domestic opportunities. "Focused on increasing
the remittances to prop up a failing economy, the government has put in place
exploitative labor policies to avoid facing up to the basic need of generating employment
for its citizens. The social cost of forced migration to Philippine society is equally
staggering, it further read. The church people and workers conference was convened
in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Pope John Paul 's encyclical on Human
Work (LaboremExercens). The Church saidAquino 'favors powerful over poor'. They
said President Benigno Aquino has not demonstrated the inclination and strength to
exercise political power on behalf of the powerless. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick
Pabillo said that recent decisions by Aquino have favored the powerful and wealthy over
the people struggling of poverty. He cited for instance the government's actions on the
cases of the Hacienda Luisita farmers and the Philippine Airlines Employees
Association (PALEA). "There are many cases like PALEA and Luisita. they are one in
favoring the rich and the powerful at the expense of the poor, said Pabillo. t had also
been vocal on the unfair ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) over the case of Hacienda
Luisita, which is a sugar plantation owned by Aquino's family in Tarlac. Last month, the
SC had revoked Hacienda Luisita's previous stock distribution plan but ordered a secret
voting among the 6,296 farmer-worker beneficiaries on what to choose between land or
stocks The union issued the statement Wednesday as it continues to map out
coordinated moves of a series of mass actions against contractualization. The decision
came after President Aquino's pronouncement that PAL's plan is valid and that it "could
not be held liable for unfair labor practice for pursuing a legitimate exercise of
management prerogative."The office of the president closed its eyes to the fact that
PAL will retrench [workers] despite a $1.6-billion projected annual profit, they said. "As
a Church, we should be aware of the situation of our workers and support them.Pabillo
says that it's clear in the teachings of the church that labor has priority over capital,. A
bishop says that thegovernment is 'insensitive' to PAL workers.A Catholic bishop said
that the Aquino administration is backing to Philippine Airline's (PAL) plan to spin-off its
non-core units and this is a "grave disservice to the people,.Manila Auxiliary Bishop
Broderick Pabillo said that while the government has responsibility to recognize
business interests, it also has equal duty to ensure that they do so within the bounds of
labor law. But Malacaang's latest action on the issue, he said, only manifests the
government's "insensitivity to the predicament of the workers..Pabillo said that at the
same time, they express grave disappointment over the government's manifest partially
towards PAL, whose recent financial report belies claims of 'massive losses,'. The
head of the National Secretariat for Social Action of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of
the Philippines also claimed that the outsourcing program was only aimed to "dismantle
the union and abolish its collective bargaining powers. "Such a move by the
management is a poor recompense to the very same people who worked hard for nine
years to pull PAL out of fiscal insolvency in 1998, he said.Pabillo added that theyfail to
grasp the extent of their thirst for profit especially in the wake of their anticipation to rake
in P1.6B in annual revenues,.Malacaang said recently affirmed that the plan is valid
and that "PAL could not be held liable for unfair labor practice for pursuing a legitimate
exercise of management prerogative. "The Church maintains its appeal for a just
resolution of this case. Government decisions must be conducted within the
prescriptions of labor's primacy over capital people first over profit,.A alsoBishop
backs PAL workers' strike. An official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the
Philippines supports a labor strike by Philippine Airlines union members against a
Malacaang ruling allowing the local carrier to push through with its outsourcing plans.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the CBCP's National Secretariat
for Social Action, said holding a strike is the only viable option left for the workers at this
time. He said if PAL pushes through with laborcontractualization and outsourcing, it
would send a wrong signal to the country's labor force. The prelate said the government
should protect the rights of the workers so that they will not be forced to leave the
country and find better jobs abroad.Pabillo said that"as Church, we should be aware of
the situation of our workers and support them. t's clear in the teachings of the church
that labor has priority over capital,.President Aquino earlier said that the plan is valid
and that "PAL could not be held liable for unfair labor practice for pursuing a legitimate
exercise of management prerogative. Pabillo said the government should realize that
laborers are not mere commodities that should be subjected to cheap labor. Bishop
'disappointed' as gov't allows mass layoff. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo
said he is "disappointed by the government's decision to allow the Philippine Airlines'
planned mass layoff of some 3,000 employees. Pabillo said the recent decision of the
Department of Labor and Employment will deprive the workers the just share of the
fruits of their labor. "This clearly shows that the policy of the present administration is to
favor the capitalists than the ordinary workers,.Pabillo chairs the National Secretariat
for Social Action- Justice and Peace (Nassa), the social action arm of the Catholic
Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).According to him, it also means that it is
a policy of the Aquino administration to continue the labor-only contracting
arrangements and casualization of labor in the country. The prelate said that the dignity
of work comes from the laborers themselves and not from the capital which is controlled
by capitalists. n line with the thoughts of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines,
Pabillo stressed the "priority of labor over capital..Pabillo said thatthe capital is needed
but labor should have the primacy. He lamented that we must give more importance to
the workers,."But in the case of the PAL Employees' Association (Palea), it seems that
profit is more important for the government than the dignity of people,.






IV. The SocioI Docfrines of fhe Church
A.) The Relationship Between Labor and Capital
1.) Work, because of its subjective or personal character, is superior to every other
factor connected with productivity; this principle applies, in particular, with regard
to capital. The term "capital has different meanings today. Sometimes it
indicates the material means of production in a given enterprise, sometimes the
financial resources employed to bring about production or used in stock market
operations. One can also speak of "human capital to refer to human resources,
that is, to man himself in his capacity to engage in labour, to make use of
knowledge and creativity , to sense the needs of his fellow workers and a mutual
understanding with other members of an organization. The term "social capital is
also used to indicate the capacity of a collective group to work together, the fruit
of investments in mutually-binding fiduciary trust. This variety of meanings offers
further material for reflecting on what the relationship between work and capital
may be today.
2.) The Church's social doctrine has not failed to insist on the relationship between
labour and capital, placing in evidence both the priority of the first over the
second as well as their complementarities.
3.) abour has an intrinsic priority over capital. "This principle directly concerns the
process of production; in this process labour is always a primary efficient cause,
while capital, the whole collection of means of production, remains a mere
instrument or instrumental cause. This principle is an evident that emerges from
the whole of man's historical experience. This "is part of the abiding heritage of
the Church's teaching.
4.) There must exist between work and capital a relationship of complementarities:
the very logic inherent within the process of production shows that the two must
mutually permeate one another and that there is an urgent need to create
economic systems in which the opposition between capital and labour is
overcome. n times when "capital and "hired labour, within a less complicated
economic system, used to identify with a certain precision not only two elements
of production but also and above all two concrete social classes, the Church
affirmed that both were in themselves legitimate: "Capital cannot stand without
labour, nor labour without capital. This is a truth that applies also today, because
"it is altogether false to ascribe either capital alone or to labour alone what is
achieved by the joint work of both; and it is utterly unjust that the one should
arrogate unto itself what is being done, denying the effectiveness of the other.
5.) In considering the relationship between labour and capital , above all with regard
to the impressive transformations of our modern times, we must maintain that the
"principal resource" and the "decisive factor at man's disposal is man himself,
and that "the integral development of the human person through work does not
impede but rather promotes the greater productivity and efficiency of work itself.
n fact, the world of work is discovering more and more that the value of "human
capital is finding expression in the conscience of workers, in their willingness to
create relationships, in their creativity, in their industriousness in promoting
themselves, in their ability consciously to face new situations, to work together
and to pursue common objectives. These are strictly personal qualities that
belong to the subject of work more than to the objective, technical , or operational
aspects of work itself . All of this entails a new perspective in the relationship
between labour and capital. We can affirm that, contrary to what happened in the
former organization of labour in which the subject would end up being less
important than the object, than the mechanical process, in our day the subjective
dimension of work tends to be more decisive and more than the objective
dimension.
6.) The relationship between labour and capital often shows traits of antagonism that
take on new forms with the changing of social and economic contexts. n the
past, the origin of the conflict between capital and labour was found above all "in
the fact that the workers put their powers at the disposal of the entrepreneurs,
and these, following the principle of maximum profit, tried to establish the lowest
possible wages for the work done by the employees. In our present day, this
conflict shows aspects that are new and perhaps more disquieting: scientific and
technological progress and the globalization of markets, of themselves a source
of development and progress, expose workers to the risk of being exploited by
the mechanisms of the economy and by the unrestrained quest for productivity.


V. PeIofing fhe Thoughfs of Morcuse wifh fhe
Sfond of fhe Church
Herbert Marcuse's main principles are the cooperative society and freedom. The
Church on the other hand sided themselves with the PALEA and promoted the idea
of the "priority of labour over capital. Marcuse also said that his cooperative society
is bounded by labour. Freedom can only be obtained by labour. Also, both Marcuse
and the Church condemn the laws of our democratic society regarding labour. They
both emphasized the importance of labour and disregard the importance of profit in
capitalism. They also both tackled the alienation or exploitation of the workers. They
emphasized the importance of workers. They both criticized bureaucracy which
makes the workers feel they are just mere tool for production. Both the Church and
Marcuse say that workers are not just mere tool for production. Workers cannot be
substituted with profit, their dignity must always be protected and they cannot be
subjected to something they do not want. Both also Marcuse and the Church
criticized capitalism and profit. They both want to protect the ordinary workers
against the powerful. They both advocated with "labour.

Among these are the principles of Marcuse that is similar with Church's stand in the
PAEA issue:

O The co-operative society is a society where the individuals fully dominates the
object of his labour and where he is able to shape it in accordance with the most
satisfactory combination of the constraints imposed by the object's "inner laws
and of the needs he feels most express his individual personality. He
understands himself through such labour and others through their labour.
O Genuine human freedom is to be obtained in and through labor.
O Human freedom is the measure to which free labor takes place.
O The co-operative society is guided by ethical ends.
O ndividual rights and legal guarantees do not in themselves constitute freedom.
O Legal and constitutional guarantees of participatory freedom are essentially
empty.
O ndividual freedom can never be a goal per se.
O nternal freedom is a vacuous freedom.
O n One Dimensional Man, he attacked the affluent society especially the
American society as evil. He argued that capitalism corrupted the working class,
the American society gave false desires. Marcuse said that democracy was
unacceptable for it mentally enslaved the majority.




VI. ConcIusion
The action of the Philippine Airlines was valid management prerogative. t was not
their fault. t is the fault of the falling global economy. PAL is one of the many
businesses affected by the problems in the global economy. The PAL was forced to
terminate its 2600 employees because it must ensure its company's survival and also
the survival of its remaining 5000 employees. PAL commenced the outsourcing so that
it could keep up with the competitive global aviation industry. Now, in order to safeguard
the welfare of the terminated workers of PAL, the government needs to support them.

The government can help the terminated workers of PAL in many ways:
O The government could help them find new jobs.
O The government could lend them emergency loans.
O The government could teach the terminated PAL employees livelihood skills for
them to have an additional source of income.
O The government could help the terminated workers to fight for their Collective
Bargaining Agreement.
O The government could form an investigation panel to investigate whether the
PAL outsourcing was legal or not.
n the end, the only thing the government could do for the terminated workers of PAL
is to support them. Nothing can be done anymore. Life is just like that. t is really hard to
love right now. But the rights and dignity of the workers should always be protected. The
workers should always be prioritized above anything else especially from capital or
profit.
















ibIiogrophy:

Books:

Azucena, C.A. Jr., "Everyone's Labor Code, Rex Bookstore nc., 2006.
LibreriaEditriceVaticana, et al., "Compedium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Word
and Life Publications, 2004.
Lind, Peter, Marcuse and Freedom
Turner, Jonathan H., Leonard Beeghley, and Charles H. Powers. 1998. The Emergence
of Sociological Theory. 4th ed. Cincinnati,OH: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Wallace, Ruth A. and Alison Wolf. 1999. Contemporary Sociological Theory: Expanding
the Classical Tradition. 5th ed.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.


Magazine:

The Economist Magazine, "Sticky Patch or Meltdown? Article, June 18th-24th 2011
magazine edition, 2011.






Websites:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com
http://www.brooklynsoc.org/courses/43.1/weber.html
http://www.bolenderinitiatives.com/sociology/emile-durkheim-1858-1917/emile-
durkheim-assumptions
http://www.egs.edu/library/herbert-marcuse/biography/
http://factoidz.com/what-is-conflict-theory/
http://www.gmanews.tv/story
http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-
8&q=Social+theory+of+emile+durkheim
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/macmi005/Soc1001/Sociological%20Theory%20.pdf
http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/weber.htm
http://maureencutajar.suite101.com/max-weber-bureaucracy-theory-a267433
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/286713/stop-peddling-lies-pal-tells-palea
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Karl_Marx
http://www.philippineairlines.com/news/nlrc_junks_palea.jsp
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/business/2011/04/01/story-thus-far-timeline-
philippine-airlines-labor-row-148106
http://www.uta.edu/huma/illuminations/kell12.htm
http://www.unc.edu/~elliott/durkheim.html