Emergency Arbitration

Korean Air pilots forced to work

Minister uses emergency arbitration power to end 4-day strike
by Park Jung-youn, Korea Herald

The government yesterday exercised its emergency arbitration right to end a four-day strike by Korean Air's unionized pilots, forcing them back to work and banning them from taking any form of collective action for the next 30 days. The decision came after the airline's management and pilots failed to narrow their differences at Saturday's last minute talk that was extended into early yesterday morning.

Labor Minister Kim Dae-hwan announces at a news conference yesterday the government`s decision to intervene in the Korean Air labor dispute. [The Korea Herald] Labor Minister Kim Dae-hwan announced the ministry decision to arbitrate the Korean Air labor dispute, citing its detrimental blow to the nation's economy and massive air transportation holdups that have stranded passengers. "Korean Air pilots' strike has cost the nation nearly 189.4 billion won so far, and we did not see the likelihood of management and labor ever reaching an agreement in the near future," he said.

"The Labor Ministry regrets that the dispute could not be resolved voluntarily by the two sides," he added, stressing that should the pilots continue their walkout despite the arbitration, they will be severely reprimanded in accordance with the law. Violation of emergency arbitration could result in two years jail term and a maximum fine of 20 million won. The unionized pilots officially called off the walkout almost immediately following the Labor Ministry's announcement, albeit grudgingly, calling the ministry's decision "a repression of workers' rights to organize." The group claimed that "the management refused to compromise, not budging even an inch to resolve the issue," referring to the management's refusal to accept the union's lowered demands. Calling for a 6.5 percent wage raise and 50 percent bonus increase, nearly 80 percent of the air carrier's 1,350 unionized pilots staged a walkout from Wednesday at midnight. The pilots later softened a bit, offering to drop the previous demand for salary increase to 4.5 percent and further down to 3.5 percent. The management stood firm with its own bottom line - 2.5 percent wage increase and 50 percent bonus raise. The walkout resulted in canceling as many as 66 percent of the scheduled flights yesterday, with nearly 89 percent of the international cargo flights called off.

Local businesses have urged the government to intervene promptly, given that the nation's largest air carrier is responsible for 48.1 percent of the international air cargo services. Korea's key technology exports like memory chips and handset parts in particular rely heavily on air freight deliveries, with nearly 100 percent and 70 percent, respectively, of each delivered by air, according to a government official. Korean Air's flight service is expected to normalize by Wednesday.

"We would like to normalize operations right away to minimize the inconvenience for passengers and businesses; however there are the safety concerns that should be taken seriously," said a Korean Air official. The pilots are required to take at least 12 hours of full rest before operating a jet. However with the four-day walkout leaving the majority of the pilots physically drained, they would need longer hours of rest, he added. The government has invoked emergency arbitration rights four times so far, including the one in August to put an end to the 25-day walkout by Asiana Airlines pilots.