Airport workers fear privatization

Members of a workers union at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport yesterday lambasted the looming privatization of the country's premier gateway, which they fear would cost them their jobs.

The Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Paliparan ng Pilipinas or SMPP, representing operations and maintenance workers at the NAIA, said the airport takeover by a private group would result in the displacement of 1,300 employees.

It would also result in higher fees for airport services, which would adversely affect travelers, particularly the thousands of OFWs, SMPP said.

It added that there has been no evidence from prior airport privatizations that this provides meaningful advantages for employees, passengers and the general public.

The International Air Transport Association or IATA, the global body representing commercial airlines, shared this sentiment.

IATA chief executive officer Alexandre de Juniac said: "We have yet to see an airport privatization that had, in the long term, delivered on the promised benefits of greater efficiency for airlines and a better experience for passengers. Our view is that the ownership is best left in public hands."

The SMPP aired the same fear during a picket held at the Senate grounds on Tuesday during the budget hearing of the Department of Transportation or DoTr.

Kept in the dark

SMPP president Andy Bercasio said the DoTr issued a call for bidding on 23 August, but the most affected sector in airport operations — the airport workers — were left out.

Bercasio said they are concerned about their job security, among other things, once private concessionaires take over.

He said their jobs were the subject of a call for bids starting at P170 billion.

The bidding includes the construction of modern infrastructure and airport operations and maintenance, which Manila International Airport Authority employees currently do.

He said they are kept in the dark as to what will happen to their jobs under the plan since they have yet to be presented to them by the MIAA and DoTr management.

The union wants DoTr officials and senators to take notice of their plight as the clock is ticking fast, they pointed out, under the privatization timeline. The DoTr expects a concession agreement with the winning bidder in the first quarter of next year.

The coordination, discussion, participation, and representation of the workers' union in plans, programs, and related activities concerning any reorganization, re-engineering, privatization, and related activities that affect the conditions of work of the union members are provided for under Article X, Section 3 of the AA-SMPP C Collective Negotiations Agreement.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization and International Labor Organization, Bercasio said the international norm of social dialogue between key stakeholders should underpin the privatization process of airports.

The union also complained that all the talks behind their backs were about investments. The union fears that the MIAA and DoTr may have deemed labor the most disposable element in the privatization talks.

The SMPP said their members may suffer the same fate as the Mactan and Clark airport workers who were let go by the government. It noted that the private concessionaires that took over and promised them steady work and better perks have yet to give it to them.

The union said that in other airport privatizations, workers lost their jobs while rates for airport services soared. They said most of the best and most advanced airports today are publicly owned and run.

The SMPP, he added, has always supported the upgrade of the premier airport because its primary responsibility is providing topnotch service to travelers.