‘MIAA workers to keep jobs upon NAIA turnover’

NO Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) personnel will be displaced once the government turns over to the incoming concessionaire the operations and maintenance of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for its modernization, Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista said over the weekend.

Secretary Bautista said that part of the concession agreement between the Department of Transportation (DoTr) and San Miguel Corp. (SMC)SAP and Company Consortium is that MIAA personnel will keep their jobs.

SMC-SAP won the bidding for the P170.6 billion rehabilitation of the main international gateway for travelers to the Philippines.

The consortium is composed of diversified conglomerates San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp., the developer of the world-class South Korean air hub.

“Part of the concession agreement is for the concessionaire to offer positions to existing employees of Manila International Airport Authority,” Bautista said.

“Be it regular employees, contract of service or job order. Ibig sabihin, walang mawawalan ng trabaho dito,” Bautista said.

He reiterated that the incoming concessionaire will prioritize hiring current employees, adding that the SMC-SAP will offer jobs to employees involved in operations.

MIAA employees not involved in operations, on the other hand, will remain with the agency, according to Bautista.

“If you believe you have a particular skill set necessary to keep this airport functioning, you have no reason to be anxious,” he said.

Bautista said MIAA will focus on being an airport regulator, while the concessionaire will be in charge of the operations and maintenance of NAIA.

“The whole exercise is intended to modernize NAIA, bring it in step with global aviation transformation,” he said.

Bautista urged MIAA employees to help the government in restoring NAIA’s reputation as one of the world’s premier gateways.

“We need to reverse NAIA’s world’s worst airport reputation. That needs to happen fast. Make sure you have the right morals and values when the transition starts,” he said.