By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
Allianz Life said it is determined to implement a lockout on labor union members who have been on strike for more than 110 days.
A lockout is a legal means used by a company against the industrial action of a labor union, which orders the strike participants to leave and restricts them from entering the building. All insurance business, including customer service and sales will operate normally.
Around 500 labor union members have been on strike, opposing the introduction of the performance pay system.
``The labor union has illegally occupied the parking space of the head office building and the surrounding area and obstructed normal operations of the company by continuously staging demonstrations,'' said a spokeswoman of the leading German insurer in the country. She added that they are distributing malicious leaflets that are damaging to the company in the streets to block insurance sales.
The conflict with the labor union has damaged the insurer, which was seeing improving profitability following massive investment in Korea. The police arrested Allianz's labor union leader last week for staging illegal strikes.