http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideBusop.htm?f=2010/january/21/rayenano.isx&d=2010/january/21
Philippine Airlines union president Edgardo Oredina did not sound optimistic when he apprised members of the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association late last year about the financial predicament of PAL and the state of the global aviation industry.
Oredina informed his members that PAL had hatched a plan to “outsource several operation units” that could lead to the loss of regular jobs held by some 4,000 employees. Alarmed, Oredina wrote Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, seeking the intervention of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on PAL’s job outsourcing strategy.
The union chief, along with senior union officials, also sought a consultation meeting with Labor Secretary Marianito Roque to discuss PAL’s plan and the airline’s claim of being “on the brink of bankruptcy.”
“After we updated [Secretary Roque] regarding our predicament... on the issue of PAL’s planned outsourcing, we asked him if there is any possibility of a government takeover of PAL if the need arises. He informed us that the possibility is very remote for the government has no capacity to operate an airline but he assured us that he will help on the issue of job preservation, no worker will be displaced,” Oredina’s letter read.
PAL’s union, however, seemed resigned to PAL’s fate, especially after its representatives to the recent International Transport Workers’ Federation meeting in Sri Lanka learned that other aviation workers in the world were facing the same problems.
“Ironically, ITF’s presentation also dealt with the great impact to the operating revenues made by the so-called ‘low-cost and no-frills’ airlines in the region like Cebu Pacific, Air Asia and the likes, leading to the heavy losses on the legacy airlines and flag carriers like PAL,” Oredina said in his report.
He relayed that other delegates to the convention, including labor unions from Cathay Pacific, Malaysian Airlines, Thai International Airways, Air India and Garuda Indonesia, revealed that due to the tight financial conditions of their respective airlines, flag carriers resorted to “retrenchment, reduction of working hours, pay cuts and outsourcing to counter the challenges of the low-cost airlines.”
“... we can conclude that unions worldwide, especially in the aviation industry, must be more dynamic, proactive, innovative and aggressive adapting to the current changes in the industry, within the framework of maintaining the essence of unionism...,” Oredina said.
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And I often ask myself, “Eh bakit ka pa nagpapakahirap dito?” In ’73, a high official of the government asked me, “I-endorse mo na lamang ang New Society, Ninoy. Ayos na. Ilalabas na kita.” When I refused, they advised me, “Sumulat ka na lang kay Marcos. Ask for his forgiveness.” O, ano naman kako ang kasalanan ko? Eh siya ang nagkasala sa bayan, bakit ako ang hihingi ng tawad? My friends, I cannot understand the timidity and gull of these people. Ikang ganoon, be practical. Eh talagang ganoon eh, makibagay ka na ika. Napakalakas ika ng bagyo eh, ikaw lang ika ang mahihirapan diyan, mag-isa ka diyan. Hindi bale ‘ka ganoon, kung ayaw mo nang sumulat, eh tumawag ka na lang sa telepono. Ibulong mo na lamang, ayos na. I would like to tell you that I was tempted in my seven thousand, almost 7285 days in prison to do just that. I am only human, ako po’y isang tao lamang. When my wife and children would visit me and they would leave me at dusk after one hour, I also would like to enjoy the embrace of my children in the peace of my home.
and yet the government set them free and I was in jail. But I knew, that somehow, I will regain my freedom, maybe not in this world, but elsewhere, and I knew, that sometime, somewhere, Mr. Marcos and I will meet, and in that meeting I will have my satisfaction.
And so my friends, on August 4, much against my better judgment, I spoke in New York and I told Mr. Marcos, “Believe me, Mr. President, that if you do not lift your martial law, bombs will be bursting in Manila.” Mr. Marcos called me insane. You know what he said, “He should not have had his heart operation. He should have had his head operated.”
I have read Mahatma Gandhi in prison, and I have read what he said, and this frail man, this man, almost 60 years old, barely 96 pounds, fought the entire British Empire and caused that empire to collapse. Why? Because he had an indomitable spirit, he had a moral spirit. He had the courage to stand against the British and tell them, “You can end a man. You can imprison his body but you cannot imprison his soul, and as long as man will refuse to be defeated, you are never defeated.” And so, Mr. Marcos can imprison my body, but my spirit shall soar
PAL president Jaime Bautista said he was disappointed with the high court’s decision.
“While we have yet to receive a copy of the said decision, PAL is disappointed that the high tribunal did not appreciate our arguments that the termination of PAL employees, including [Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines] members in 1998, was necessitated by the fact that PAL was under rehabilitation, which is equivalent to Chapter 11 bankruptcy,” Bautista said in a statement.
“We will wait for the official copy of the Supreme Court decision to study its implication and determine our legal options,” he said.
Bautista last month told the Philippine Airlines Employees Association that management planned to outsource or spin off some units including catering, passenger handling, ramp handling and cargo handling because of heavy losses.
In response, the association said this planned “second wave of outsourcing” would affect the job security of the 2,000 to 4,000 employees assigned to those departments.
“It seems 10 years of labor sacrifice were not enough,” group president Gerry Rivera said. Rey E. Requejo
It is advice worth heeding from Chinese philosopher Mencius, whom Tan also quoted in the book “Lucio C. Tan” published by the Xinhua Publishing House. “A gentleman delights in three things—for one’s parents to be both alive and for one’s brothers to have no misfortune; looking up at Heaven without shame; and educating the world’s talented people.”
Now, if you see, it seems that there’s a stronger force against Gloria at this point. Eventhough Gloria has her Tan, Concepcion, Yulos and Dees, these will not be enough to counter the formidable business alliance ranged against her. Tan is actually a weak component in Gloria’s corporate group. Tan is known to have a pragmatic approach to politics. If one or some of these businessmen see that the winds are changing and it’s not going the way to Gloria, we may yet see a silent entourage of businessmen going to the other side and striking deals left and right with the Anti-Arroyo group.
I hope we can all take the Dharma to heart and safeguard our minds from such pollutants as greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, and doubt. We should cleanse all that is deleterious from within and actively strive to lead virtuous lives. Let us sow seeds of love in our minds and make the best use of our lives by never missing a chance to do good and by taking good care of our parents. Only then will we be able to grow in wisdom and create valuable lives.
What kind of hatred is there between these people? Now, even if one side did win, peace still would not come to the area, and the civilians still would not be able to live in peace. The enmity between the two sides just runs deeper and deeper, and more seeds of hatred are sown into people’s consciousness. It is like planting many landmines in the mind—just one slight touch and off they go, with disastrous consequences.
Landmines in battlefields can be removed, but it is far more difficult to get rid of the landmines in people’s minds. All resentment, enmity, and hatred stem from the ignorance and delusion in our minds. Continually filling our hearts with goodness and learning the ways of goodness is the only way to cleanse away these inner delusions and impurities. And only when people’s minds are peaceful and balanced and people care for one another with Great Love can our world truly flourish.
Although there will always be difficulties when working in the world, as long as we can dedicate ourselves with the Four Immeasurable Minds, we will be able to smooth out even the rockiest paths. “With loving-kindness, we have no regrets; with great compassion, we have no complaints; with a joyful mind, we have no troubles; and with equanimity, we give without asking for anything in return.”
Asking not for good health, but for wisdom and acuity:
With wisdom and acuity, one is able to know right from wrong, to understand the reasoning of things, to do certain things and not to do other things. That is why we seek wisdom so that we can really understand the truth. Otherwise, we may have good health but our mind is confused – then we cannot distinguish between right and wrong, virtue and non-virtue. What we do may harm others and ourselves.
That is, when one gives their great love, both the giver and receiver will feel grateful. Humanity is not a slogan. It is an expression that can be felt as well as seen by others. In Tzu Chi’s community, people care for, encourage and spur-on each other . This is Tzu Chi’s humanity. Lacking this spirit, there will be criticism and gossip, resulting in a tense work atmosphere where people can not be at peace.
Our spirit is sincerity, integrity, faith, and honesty. We believe that all beings are equal and everyone has an innate Buddha-nature. Practicing kindness and compassion, one can see Buddhism clearly; carrying out the missions, the rich gives and feels joyful from giving, the poor receives and experiences relief from receiving.
“What was done in the past dictates the present, and what is done in the present determines the future.” We are most blessed to be born human, and we shall proceed vigorously with courage on the Bodhisattva path. May our society be filled with love and cycled with virtues. It is our responsibility to have the right belief and the right mindfulness, and to continuously cultivate the blessings and wisdoms.
That logic from hell hasn’t just made the Ampatuans possible, it has made this entire regime possible. Ironically, it has been couched in that seemingly benign idea, “think positive.” The logic grants that Arroyo lies (she said she would not run, but did), cheats (she did not win by God, she won by Garci), steals (she hasn’t just stolen money, she has stolen hope), and merely exhorts the people to find ways to deal with it, to get around it, to endure it. That is to think positive. To complain about it, or protest it, or defy it, is to think negative. When bad things happen to those who do, such as Jun Lozada, they are told: “Ikaw kasi, alam mo nang ganyan yan, lumaban ka pa (You know she’s like that, you still went up against her).”
“It’s your fault you want to be a good citizen.”
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