Officials from Japan Airlines Corp were negotiating with representatives from pilots and other labor unions today to avert a planned 24-hour strike over pay, airline officials said.

 

The strike, slated for tomorrow, will not affect any international flights, the Associated Press reported, citing Japan Airlines spokesman Atsushi Abe.

 

But 26 percent of JAL's domestic flights will be canceled, affecting 17,000 passengers, if the walkout goes ahead as planned, Abe said. JAL, based in Tokyo, is the country's largest airline.

 

A group of four unions, including the JAL Flight Crew Union comprising 1,154 pilots and the JAL Cabin Crew Union with 1,828 workers, have jointly threatened to walk out the whole day tomorrow, the company said.

 

The unions are demanding a uniform monthly pay rise of 15,000 yen (US$128) per union member, Abe said.

 

Abe and representatives from JAL management and unions have been intermittently holding negotiations today but no compromise has yet to be reached.

 

(Shanghai Daily March 20, 2007)