By Moon Gwang-lip
Staff Reporter


The government Monday decided to intervene in the strike of unionized pilots at Asiana Airlines now in its 23rd day.

The decision was made during a meeting of related Cabinet ministers, including Labor Minister Kim Dae-hwan.

``We’ve decided to take the emergency arbitration measure today or tomorrow at the earliest if the dispute remains unsettled,’’ Lee Ki-kwon, public relations official at the ministry, said during a media briefing.

He pointed out that the ministry has no other choice but to intervene in the dispute as the government-set Sunday deadline for ending the strike passed without any progress.

``Even though the strike has gotten into the fourth week and a series of bilateral dialogues have been taken place, we see little possibility of the two sides ending the strike through further negotiations,’’ Lee said.

The management and pilots of the nation’s second-largest airliner met Sunday and talked for over 16 hours until 4 a.m. yesterday but failed to reach an agreement.

During the protracted meeting, the two sides agreed on several non-core issues but failed to discuss 13 key issues, including increasing the union’s say in the management of the company, its participation in management’s disciplinary decisions, reduced flying time for pilots and an extension of the retirement age.

The official also said Labor Minister Kim will meet the head of the National Labor Relations Commission today for consultations on the emergency measure.

Under the measure, Asiana’s union would immediately stop the strike for the 30-day cooling-off period.

If the two sides fail to reach an agreement during that period, the labor minister will call for government arbitration, which has the same effect as a labor-management agreement.

The government has only invoked such powers twice: in 1993 during unrest at Hyundai Motor and in 1969 at Korea Shipbuilding.

The strike, which began July 17, has caused damage to the airline, forcing it to cancel all its cargo flights, about half of its domestic flights and many lucrative international passenger flights during the peak summer vacation period.

Asiana estimates losses from the strike could reach 201 billion won ($194 million) by Sunday.

The strike of Asiana, which accounts for nearly 20 percent of the nation’s total air cargo transportation, has also been a big blow to the export industry.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, the disruption of cargo flights of Asiana will cause about $700 million worth of losses by the end of this month if the strike continues.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation plans to designate the airline industry as public infrastructure, which would automatically permit state intervention in case of labor disputes.

``Given the economic importance of air transportation and the government’s effort to turn the nation into a logistics hub, we will consider putting the airline industry on the list of the essential public infrastructures,’’ Choo Byung-jik, the Minister of Construction and Transportation, said in a media briefing Monday held in the government complex in Kwachon.

Essential public industries, currently including railroads, buses, oil refineries and oil distribution, water supply, electricity and hospitals, are subject to government arbitration at the request of the union or management in labor disputes.

joseph@koreatimes.co.kr