Flight International online news 08:00GMT: South Korea’s government may intervene as early as today to end a 25-day pilots’ strike at the country’s second largest carrier, Asiana Airlines.
The government said it is waiting for the outcome of last-ditch talks between the airline’s management and the Asiana Pilots Union before it acts.
Asiana said if today's talks fail to resolve the dispute the government may intervene straightaway, which would mean the country’s National Labour Relations Commission would order the striking pilots to return to work immediately.
For the next 30 days it would be illegal for pilots to strike and the union and airline management would be encouraged to negotiate to try and resolve the dispute.
After the 30-day period, if the two sides are unable to agree a resolution, the commission may introduce binding arbitration to end the dispute.
Asiana’s unionised pilots - around 500 of its 839-pilot workforce - have been on strike since 17 July causing the airline to cancel around half its domestic services, all its dedicated cargo services and some international passenger services across 16 routes.
The carrier estimates that prior to yesterday it had lost 302 billion won ($298 million) in revenue as a result of the strike. The spokesman says even if the strike ends today it will “take at least a month before services get back to normal” because some of the pilots need to undergo tests.
Source: Flight International
