Thus, said a statement from the state-run firm on Monday amid the unrest of Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) workers who fear of losing their jobs once the privatization has been completed.
The BCDA said “rank and file employees who will be affected by the privatization will be absorbed by the private company at equal or higher compensation than what they are currently receiving.” “
This has always been our commitment to the employees who will be affected,” the statement added.
On Friday, the Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (SMD), a rank-andfile employees’ union, held a general assembly at the CIAC parking lot where they expressed their sentiments.
Officers of the union called on their more than 300 members to pressure the BCDA to “categorically reveal their plans for the workforce to be affected by the said privatization.”
The workers said they are still uncertain on what lies ahead for them with the looming privatization of the O&M being pushed by CIAC’s mother company, the BCDA.
It was revealed during the general assembly that even the CIAC board of directors, who were also holding a meeting at the same time at the CIAC board room some meters away from the employees’ assembly, are left in the dark regarding the issue despite the airport corporation’s being the subject of the privatization scheme.
SMD president Manuel Bañez, said it was unusual since BCDA president and CEO Vicencio Dizon and Transportation Sec. Arthur Tugade are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the CIAC board of directors. However, it was noted that both officials were conspicuously absent during Friday’s board meeting.
However, Dizon was represented by Joshua Bingcang, BCDA senior vice-president for business development who gave a presentation about the O&M to the CIAC board which was reportedly cut short as directors took turns in asking Bingcang about the TOR (Terms of Reference) of the privatization plan.
According to some officials, the matter was never discussed in previous board meetings despite the forthcoming transition to O&M.
“Up until this time when the O&M is becoming clearer, our fate is still uncertain. It is not only the future of CIAC that is at stake here but the future of our families as well,” Bañez said.
The union president said the CIAC personnel department has been bombarded with numerous inquiries from union members ever since the pre-bidding process for the O&M was made public.
But the BCDA assured that “the privatization of the Operations and Maintenance of the airport will ensure that Clark will truly be a world class international gateway that all our people will be proud of, and we hope everyone will support this project that has been long overdue.”
Meanwhile, Atty. Anne Lorraine Adorable-Inton, one of the CIAC directors, called for a special board meeting on May 30 to review the TOR and present necessary amendments from the board.
