PNoy urged to remove migration ban on skilled workers

A labor group asked the Aquino government to remove the migration ban on skilled workers, which requires a six-month prior notice for jobs classified as mission-critical, according to a Philippine Daily Inquirer report.
Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) made the appeal in connection with the issue of the 25 pilots who resigned without notice from Philippine Airlines (PAL) and may now face administrative and criminal charges.
PM chairman Renato Magtubo said requiring skilled workers to wait for six months before they can accept overseas jobs with better salaries and benefits favors capital but is unfair to labor.
PM vice chairman and president of the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (Palea) Gerry Rivera said the pilots left because they wanted jobs with security of tenure. PAL is working to make its staff contractual instead of regular employees.
Magtubo said government and PAL should find out the real reason for the labor problems the airline is experiencing.
Aside from the issue with the pilots, PAL is faced with a possible strike from flight attendants after they failed to reach an agreement in their collective bargaining negotiations. Meanwhile, ground crew and management are also at odds over PAL’s plans to contract out jobs, which can result in the loss of jobs for 3,000 workers.
For more information, see the Philippine Daily Inquirer Aquino asked: Lift migration ban on skilled workers.