[Courtesy of Korean Air]
A South Korean court has sided with unionized pilots in a suit launched by top carrier Korean Air to stop their labor action aimed at securing a higher payment and a better working environment.
In its ruling Thursday, the Seoul Southern District Court rejected Korean Air's request for an injunction to end a prolonged wage dispute with pilots. The company has been mired in rare labour action since the union of pilots voted for a strike on February 19, demanding a 37 percent hike in wages instead of a 1.9 percent pay increase proposed by management.
The union argued its members were underpaid and were suffering from a tight flight schedule, urging Korea Air to change its corporate culture. Korean Air boss Cho Yang-ho has accused pilots of exaggerating their workload and hurting the company's reputation.
Korean Air has tried to nullify the vote, saying the union should be blamed for affecting flight safety and creating an air of anxiety to passengers. But the court turned down Korean Air's claim as overblown.
The company vowed to appeal, insisting it would not change its tough stance against what it called unwarranted demands from the pilots. There has been no actual walkout yet with the union stepping up its action gradually.
The union's 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. The average annual payment of Korean Air pilots stands at 100 million won (87,336 US dollars).
Union leaders said Korean Air's uncompromising attitude would send experienced pilots to Chinese and other foreign airlines.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
