First Time in 18 Years
The Asiana Airlines Pilots Labor Union, which has been at odds with management over wage increases for more than half a year, has secured the right to strike legally. If the pilots vote to go on strike, it will be the first strike at Asiana in 18 years since 2005.
According to the pilots labor union on May 25, they held the second arbitration meeting with the management from 2 p.m. to 11:55 p.m. the previous day through the Seoul Regional Labor Committee, but they failed to iron out their differences. As a result, the committee made the final decision to suspend the arbitration, and the labor union obtained the right to stage a strike.
Labor and management at Asiana Airlines have been holding wage negotiations since October last year, but the talks have been stalled due to clear disagreements over the rate of a wage increase. The pilots union is proposing a 10 percent wage increase, while the management is proposing 2.5 percent. The pilots union argues that it is unfair for the management to offer a 2.5 percent raise for four years due to Korea Development Bank being a creditor of Asiana Airlines despite accumulated profits of 1.2 trillion won (US$905 billion).
The pilots union took a members’ ballot for or against a strike. The results of the vote will be announced at 11 a.m. on May 28.
The labor union says it needs to make preparations to actually go on strike. In addition, air transportation is considered an essential public utility, which means that even if there is a strike at an airline, the airline must maintain an operating rate of at least 80 percent for international flights and 70 percent for domestic flights.