Asiana Airlines executives and striking pilots failed to end a three-week-long walkout early yesterday in talks that had raised hopes for a conclusion to South Korea's worst-ever aviation strike after the government softened a threat to use emergency powers to halt it.
Asiana spokesman Oh Kyung-keun said that a marathon meeting that lasted into the early hours yesterday failed to achieve an agreement. He said Asiana president C.B. Park and other top executives would meet later yesterday to decide what to do next.
The government last week warned it was prepared to end the walkout if no conclusion was reached over the weekend. The labor ministry softened its tone on Sunday, saying that while it expected Asiana and the union would reach an agreement it remained prepared to step in.
No further talks were scheduled yesterday between the pilots and management, Asiana's Oh said. "It's a dangerous situation," he added.
The pilots' demands include fewer flying hours, more say in management decisions and a higher retirement age. Both sides have offered concessions, but not enough to end the walkout, now in its twenty-third day.
If the government intervenes, Asiana's union would have to immediately stop the strike for 30 days -- a step used in sectors considered critical to the national economy. The government has only invoked such powers twice: in 1993 during unrest at Hyundai Motor Co, and in 1969 at Korea Shipbuilding Corp.
For several days, Asiana president C.B. Park and other top executives have been trying to persuade union officials to end the strike, holding talks in a mountainous area in central South Korea where the pilots have established a base.
The talks have focused on so-called "deadhead" hours, the time spent traveling by air to locations from where pilots are scheduled to fly aircraft.
The pilots want that time to be counted as part of their total flying hours.
Asiana is the country's No. 2 carrier after rival Korean Air. Asiana's international destinations include New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Bangkok, New Delhi, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Sydney and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The strike, which began on July 17, has been costly for Asiana, forcing it to cancel all its cargo flights, over 1,800 domestic flights and more than 100 international passenger flights during the peak summer travel season.
The airline said on Sunday it was canceling a total of 314 international flights for the entire month of August, including service to Frankfurt, on Aug. 15, its first to Europe so far.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS