7-Hour Philippine Strike Stops Air Traffic
Philippine air traffic controllers staged a seven-hour strike for higher wages Friday, paralyzing international and domestic air traffic, stranding thousands of travelers and canceling at least two U.S. military cargo flights.
The walkout by the 256 members of the Philippine Air Traffic Controllers Assn. ended at 1:48 p.m. after Minister of Transportation Hernando Perez assured the strikers that their demand for a 300% wage hike would be presented to President Corazon Aquino.
Rogelio Timario, a spokesman for the controllers group at Manila International Airport, said the 10% raise offered last week by Perez is unacceptable.
Timario said most air traffic controllers fall in a poverty-level pay category of less than $100 a month, making them among the lowest paid in Asia. He said a study by the controllers association found the average monthly salary of Asian controllers is about $440.
To Urge 50% Hike
He said Perez now has pledged to relay the 300% demand to Aquino and to recommend a 50% salary increase in the 1987 budget.
There was no word from the presidential palace on when Aquino would respond.
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