On May 11, Metin Külünk, of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), tabled a motion in parliament to amend the law on collective agreement, strike and lockout such that the law would effectively ban strikes in the aviation sector.
In response, Turkish Airlines workers organised by Hava-Is union, a member of ITF, went on mass sick leave at 3am, Tuesday morning, on May 29. They were immediately fired via text messages to their phones.
Already savagely attacking workers' rights, particularly in the public sector and in broadly defined "essential services", the AKP government has turned its attack on aviation workers. The repressive parliamentary motion is now the subject of an ILO complaint submitted by ITF and endorsed by the IUF.
The IUF condemns both the government of Turkey and Turkish airlines and supports unions in Turkey fighting for a state that respects all labour rights enshrined in international human rights standards.
Please join the LabourtStart campaign [1] to send off protest messages to the government in Ankara and to support the Turkish aviation workers union, Hava-Is and its members.