MANILA—Employees of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines held a nationwide protest action Friday to dramatize their plight, asking President Benigno Aquino III to overrule the disallowance of bonuses and salary increases they have already received.
Air traffic controllers and employees simultaneously unfurled black banners saying, “Mayday! Mayday!” from all the towers in the country’s CAAP-controlled airports as a distress call.
The workers asked the President to step in and stop the brain drain, triggered by poor compensation, at CAAP
CAAP has 81 airports nationwide, 44 of them handling commercial operations.
There are about 3,500 regular workers, most of whom are technical personnel involved in air traffic management.
CAAP Employees’ Union president Valiant Sucion who led protesting employees at the entrance gate of the agency’s main office in Pasay City said: “We are not asking for more than we deserve. We are demoralized because after working so hard to achieve the President’s marching orders, the GCG [Governance Commission on Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations] disapproves the CAAP’s present salary structure and bonuses.”
The President’s marching orders to the CAAP were to remove the significant safety concerns of the International Civil Aviation Organization; lift the European Union’s ban on Philippine carriers; and reinstate Philippine civil aviation’s category 1 rating of US FAA.
With these accomplished, the CAAP board granted bonuses and salary increases to boost the employees’ morale and recognize their dedication and competence.
But on May 2015, the Commission on Audit and the GCG disallowed salary increases and bonuses of nearly P1 billion already given to CAAP employees since 2012.
The CoA and GCG disapproved the salary increases from P10, 000 to P14, 000 for 1,775 technical posts which were previously given by the CAAP board since October, 2012 as well as six months worth of bonuses given in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
“Many of our colleagues have already left to work abroad because the pay is better overseas, The CAAP may run out of technical personnel because of the compensation,” he added, saying that most of the former CAAP technical workers are already air traffic officials in the Middle East where salaries are commensurate to their expertise.
The Philippines may boast of the deepest bench in terms of air traffic management experts, but we are practically losing highly skilled manpower to other countries offering triple or even quadruple of what they are receiving, Sucion added.
Demoralization has also compelled them to seek opportunities elsewhere, he said.
The CAAPEU lamented the response to their plea of a Department of Transportation and Communications official, undersecretary Juanito Bucayon Jr., who told them during an audience that they might have better luck on their appeal with the next administration.
“We still firmly believe that President Aquino will hear us out and listen to our appeal. We are doing this for our families and for the aviation industry,” Sucion said.