Turkish Airlines workers prepare for strike

ISTANBUL

Hürriyet Photo

Hava-İş union will announce the decision regarding a possible strike at Turkish Airlines (THY) tomorrow, as the company insists it will not rehire the 305 laid-off employees who participated in a strike a year ago.

Hava-İş said THY did not accept the offer to start talks in order to solve disagreements, including the rehiring of the 305 workers. “Our union will make a statement to the press about the reasons for the decision to strike at Head Office of Hava-İş at 11:00 am on April 10,” it said.

However, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek reacted to the issue by saying they could not accept the suspension of flights. “THY is not alone. We will do whatever it needs. THY is a very important institution for national security and tourism. We cannot accept the flights to be halted,” he said.

THY had announced in June that it would not rehire the 305 workers who were laid off after participating in labor action to protest a draft legislation banning strikes and lockouts in the aviation industry on May 29, 2012. Hava-İş members conducted a slowdown strike on May 29, resulting in the cancelation of 223 flights and the loss of about $2 million, according to THY chairman Hamdi Topçu. Despite the objections, the draft law came into effect on June 3.