[Courtesy of Korean Air]
Some 200 Korean Air pilots rallied Tuesday in protest after a union member was fired in an escalating dispute with management following their rare vote for a strike.
The rally, joined by dozens of supporters from Asiana Airlines, South Korea's second- largest carrier, took place in front of Korean Air headquarters in Seoul.
The pilots demanded the company withdraw its decision to sack a pilot, identified only by his surname Park, for rejecting a flight order and hampering operations.
Park was accused of "intentionally" delaying the takeoff of a plane bound for Manila and rejecting the company's order to fly it back to Incheon. Union leaders insisted Park was punished in retaliation for his union activities.
The pilots at South Korea's largest carrier voted for the strike last month, demanding a 37 percent hike in wages instead of a 1.9 percent pay increase proposed by the company. There has been no actual walkout yet with the union vowing to step up its action gradually.
Korean Air has responded with a court injunction to nullify the vote, along with a separate libel suit against union leaders for slandering chairman Cho Yang-ho with groundless allegations.
The vote gives legal ground for the pilots to engage in labor disputes, but South Korea's airline industry is officially designated as critical to the public, making it almost impossible for pilots to stage a full strike. Striking pilots are required to maintain 80 percent of flight operations.
The pilots staged a four-day walkout in 2005. They are relatively paid well, but they insisted their payment was far smaller than that of foreign airlines which have scouted experienced Korean pilots offering a much thicker pay package.
They have also accused the company of failing to improve its corporate governance and poor working conditions.
Korean Air faces a bumpy ride due to growing competition from rivals in China and the Middle East as well as budget carriers.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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