Korean Air Lines(003490) The pilots' union (KAPU) filed for mediation with the Labor Relations Commission to secure the right to strike, confirmed on the 7th. It is the first time in 10 years since the 2016 strike that KAPU has sought mediation by the commission. With the Dec. 17 integration with Asiana Airlines, KAPU is demanding that changes to pilot seniority (rank system) be decided through labor-management agreement. Management has refused to negotiate, saying the rank system falls under its inherent personnel authority.
According to the aviation industry, KAPU on the afternoon of the day filed for dispute-mediation with the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission. In April, KAPU passed a motion to pursue industrial action with about 80% approval at a general meeting of members. It has taken the final step to secure the right to strike. Before filing for mediation, KAPU also applied to the commission for "pre-mediation support," but it did not commence because management did not consent.
Dispute mediation can begin even without management's consent. Korean Air Lines operates in air transport, a designated essential public-interest business, so the mediation period is 15 days, five days longer than for general corporations. If all interested parties agree, it can be extended an additional 15 days, bringing the process to a close within a maximum of 30 days. If labor and management agree on an alternative prepared through mediation, a strike will not occur, but if mediation fails, KAPU plans to proceed directly to a strike.
In the aviation industry, many see little chance that Korean Air Lines labor and management will prepare an alternative through mediation. That is because Korean Air Lines has consistently maintained that "the rank system is personnel authority," and therefore not a subject of bargaining. Since captain promotions, which amount to advancement, are conducted according to the rank system, it is said to fall under the employer's inherent authority over personnel decisions.
Korean Air Lines said, "The company prepared a neutral rank-system plan to minimize unnecessary conflict between Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines pilots and to ensure safe operations," adding, "But KAPU is abusing the dispute-mediation system to push through selfish demands."
KAPU is demanding that the rank system be included as a bargaining item based on Article 24 of the collective agreement (the rank-order system for flight crew determined by labor-management consultation shall be observed). It also argues that even under the yellow envelope law (amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act), the rank system constitutes a managerial decision affecting workers' status and other treatment, making it a negotiable matter subject to labor disputes.
KAPU also argues that, as seen in the merger of U.S. Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines and in the ongoing merger of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, where rank-system plans were first derived through labor-management agreement, consultations with the Asiana Airlines pilots' union should take priority.
If mediation fails, Korean Air Lines faces a heightened likelihood of its first pilot strike in 10 years since 2016. At that time, the Korean Air Lines pilots' union went on a weeklong strike after wage talks broke down in 2015. Even then, it was the first pilots' strike in 11 years.
To effectively carry out industrial action, the union has also applied to the commission for a decision on essential-maintenance duties. Under a previous commission decision, Korean Air Lines must maintain 80% of international routes, 70% of Jeju routes, and 50% of domestic routes, which could blunt the impact of a strike. KAPU's position is that, because the scale of airlines operating in Korea now differs from 2006 when air transport was designated an essential public-interest business, the essential-maintenance ratios also need to be adjusted.