Korean Air workers allow company to decide wage increase in 2017

Unionized workers at Korean Air Lines will allow the company to decide on the wage increase for 2017 to better help the national flag carrier make a turnaround this year, the airline said Friday. "We have delegated authority to the company for this year's wage negotiations not only for the company's sustainable growth and survival but also for the job security of workers," union leader Lee Jong-ho said. The decision comes after the union Thursday agreed on a 3.2% pay raise for the year of 2016 after 14 rounds of negotiations with the management since April of last year. The union workers will receive a one-time, retroactive pay increase later this month under the agreement, a Korean Air spokesman said. Korean Air will focus on shifting to a profit this year despite a challenging business environment, the statement said. In a major blow to the airline, China banned on the sale of travel packages to South Korea from March 15 in retaliation against the deployment of an advance US missile defense system here.<br/>