Unionized pilots of South Korea‘s No. 1 flag carrier Korean Air Lines Co. voted for a strike Friday, providing legal grounds for them to engage in labor disputes anytime that could disrupt the country’s air transportation.

In a vote held for weeks, 1,106 workers of the airline company‘s pilot union members said “yes” to going on strike after their leaders and company representatives failed to iron out differences on wages and other working conditions. 

It was well above the mark of 923 required out of the 1,845 registered members.

Pilots sought a 37 percent hike in wages for themselves, while the company proposed a 1.9 percent increase, which it said is in line with the wage growth rate for other non-pilot workers. The union declared an end to its negotiations with the company late last year.

Earlier, a local committee in charge of settling labor disputes announced a halt to arbitration. The yes vote on Friday gives legal grounds for the union to engage in labor disputes, including a strike, down the road.

The vote for the labor dispute had been extended three times, apparently in order to raise participation rates.

A strike would mark the first time since 2005, when its flight service was disrupted by a four-day walkout that promoted government intervention due to worries over its detrimental impact on the economy and inconvenience caused to passengers.

The company estimated that it suffered around 67 billion won ($54.3 million) in losses due to canceled flights and other service disruptions.

In the wake of the walkout, the government designated the airline industry as “critical” to the public, making it almost impossible for pilots to go on a full strike. Even if they do so, they have to maintain about 80 percent of flight operations to minimize disruptions.

Korean Air pilots have been complaining about their relatively small salaries compared to those of foreign airlines, a gap they cite as the main reason for many of their coworkers leaving for higher-paid jobs, mostly in China.

However, they have often drawn criticism for demanding more at a time when they are already much better paid than other workers and for holding public transportation hostage to their own interests. (Yonhap)