MANILA, March 12 (Bloomberg): The Philippine Supreme Court has declared as unconstitutional an agreement between flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. and an employees’ union that set a lower retirement age for female cabin attendants.
The agreement "was deemed void for lack of basis, discriminating against women, and being contrary to laws, international convention, and public policy,” the nation’s top court said in a statement on its website Thursday, citing a decision it made on Jan. 10.
The top court said it found merit in a petition filed by PAL female cabin crew in 2019 that questioned a collective bargaining agreement between the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines and PAL which pegged the mandatory retirement age for female flight attendants at 55 and for their male counterparts at 60.
The top court said the "fundamental equality of women and men” is guaranteed by the Philippine Constitution.
The flag carrier, owned by billionaire Lucio Tan, said a collective bargaining deal between PAL and the flight crew association on June 1 last year set the retirement age at 60 for all cabin crew members regardless of gender.
The airline said in a statement Friday that the new agreement shows its "commitment to be an equal opportunity company where management and crew members work together in the spirit of productive collaboration.”
The carrier said it has yet to receive a copy of the court decision. Before the 2022 collective bargaining deal, it had pegged the retirement age for cabin crew at 60, in compliance with a Philippine labor ruling issued in April 2011, it said. - Bloomberg
