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Pilots Strike Grounds Planes in S. Korea
Planes were grounded, passengers stranded and roads blocked Tuesday as the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions called its members out on a general strike.
The umbrella labor group said that about 50,000 workers at 126 union locals were participating in the strike. The Ministry of Labor scoffed at those figures, saying that only 15,000 workers at 68 work places were on full or partial strike.
With both the Korean Air pilots union and the Asiana Airlines ground staff striking, Korea's two national-flag air carriers were shut down together for the first time. Most domestic flights of both lines did not take off.
Angry passengers protested futilely as more than 300 domestic and international flights were canceled Tuesday. Korean Air and Asiana expected the strike action to continue on Wednesday.
Overnight negotiations at the two airline companies broke down as the unions and management failed to narrow their differences over wages and the right to bargain collectively.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said, however, that the lack of trust between the union and the management was the real issue at hand.
Management feels betrayed by the pilots, who are seeking a second wage increase in just six months, even though Korean Air is incurring debts, the sources said. Management also is irritated that the workers are bringing up issues that it thought had been resolved in past negotiations.
For their part, the striking pilots believe the company is paying foreign pilots too much, compared to what Korean ones get. They also think the management is intentionally postponing the implementation of accords reached in the past having to do with a pilot's "down" time between flights.
The situation at Asiana is somewhat more promising. The only issue there is wage increases, and the sides are thought to be near to settling on a 4.5 percent increase.
Only 41 of Korean Air's 95 scheduled international flights got off the ground Tuesday. A similar reduction appears inevitable on Wednesday.
Asiana operated all its international flights as scheduled. Its officials said they believe normal operation to be possible for at least the next five days.
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