▲ Korean Air and Asiana Airlines planes
Korean Air is facing the possibility of a pilot strike for the first time in 10 years.
The Korean Air Pilots Union (KAPU) announced that it applied for labor dispute mediation with the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission on the 7th after failing to reach an agreement in negotiations for the 2024 collective agreement and the 2025 wage agreement.
This marks the first time in 11 years, since December 2015, that the union has applied for mediation.
During the 2015 wage negotiations, the union failed to narrow its differences with management and staged a seven-day strike starting on December 7, 2016.
The core issue in the current negotiations is reportedly the pilot seniority ranking system resulting from the merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines.
The union claimed that although Article 24 of the collective agreement stipulates that "the company shall observe the flight crew seniority ranking system determined by labor-management agreement," management unilaterally prepared a seniority proposal.
"The date of appointment as a captain serves as the starting point not only for the basic salary system but also for senior captain and chief captain allowances, and that gap accumulates until retirement," the union emphasized. "If the basis for seniority is finalized without the parties concerned being convinced, that distrust will ultimately spill over into the cockpit."
In response, Korean Air stated, "Through external consulting and other means, we have prepared a neutral and objective promotion seniority proposal that does not cause disadvantages to Korean Air pilots. The pilots union is abusing the dispute mediation procedure to push through its own selfish demands."
The company added, "Deciding who to promote under rational promotion criteria is an inherent personnel management right belonging to the employer, and this application for labor dispute mediation cannot be a subject of mediation."
Korean Air explained, "During the integration process, the existing captain promotion requirements and internal relative seniority of Korean Air pilots will be maintained as they are. We plan to prevent unnecessary confusion by maintaining the current internal seniority between military-experienced and civilian-experienced pilots from both companies."
The current mediation application also includes issues such as a wage hike, rest periods following flights, and standards for calculating flight allowances.
The union is demanding a 3.3 percent wage increase and the application of 30 hours of local rest after flights exceeding 10 hours across all routes.
The union also maintains that flight allowances should be calculated starting from the reporting time.
The union plans to hold rallies from the 14th to the 20th in front of Korean Air's headquarters in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Incheon International Airport Terminal 2, and near the residence of the Korean Air chairman.
According to the union, the mediation period is 15 days from the application date, which can be extended by another 15 days by mutual agreement between labor and management.
The union explained that because it went through a vote for or against industrial action last April, it will secure legal rights to strike if mediation is not reached during this period.
However, due to the characteristics of essential public services, operations will be maintained at the level of essential maintenance services agreed upon by labor and management even if industrial action begins.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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